


Ghost Of The Void

by MasterGrimm



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Anxiety, But Asriel will have to carry the team for now., F/M, Forgive Me, Gaster Is A Little Insane, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, My First Fanfic, One day our main character will kickass, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Space Time Shenanigans, The Void, There are swear words, Timeskips, Yea Asriel Is A Bro, references to real life events, references to tv shows, updates will probably be slow, void magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 46,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25676782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterGrimm/pseuds/MasterGrimm
Summary: Honestly I don't know what I was expecting in death. A small part of me hoped that it wouldn't be lights out forever but boy were my hopes crushed quickly. I refuse to give up though, there has to be something out here.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 25





	1. Darkness Was My Only Friend

POV:???

Loneliness was all I could recall when I first woke up here. I didn’t know where I was or who I was at first, only realizing that my only company here in this abyss was the dark. It wasn’t a good listener, always drowning my pleads for someone to tell me that there was someone there. However, nobody came. It was just me and the dark, and despite how bad of a friend it was, it was my only company here. 

Eventually, I had given up on searching for any signs of life, but instead reflecting on myself. I wanted to know how I got here in the first place. My first assumption was that this place was actually hell. It had no fire or demons in it, but the suffocating grasp of the dark was far worse than burning in eternity. This forsaken place taught me that the worst torture isn’t on the body, but rather the mind. I had random flashes of memory that confirmed to me that I was killed by a gunshot wound. As for the weapon or person who did it, well...they just appear all fuzzy. My head hurts just thinking about it. I did however learn that I was 20 when I met my demise **.** All I want to know now was why I was put here. If there is a god out there, I want to know what my purpose of being here is. Am I being punished? Is this a test? Or was this the fate of life after death for everyone? I rubbed my eyes and sighed from the mental exhaustion that was creeping in. What I would do for someone to share my thoughts and jokes with right now.

More time passed and I think the insanity was beginning to set in. At first, it happened in dreams. I began to see some kind of weird monster. Not the scary type of monster. They looked quite small and fluffy looking with white fur. Oh and horns but they also look a bit undeveloped as if they were still growing . At first, I just dismissed it as my consciousness just hitting random on the dream generator after having a bit of coke. But for whatever reason this dream kept appearing more and more frequently. That’s when the voices popped in. I had been standing there behind the monster as per usual unable to move, it would be kneeling down on a bed of golden flowers never moving except for the occasional rise and fall of its shoulders to indicate breathing. For whatever reason I had this strange sense of pity for them. He seemed alone just like me with the only sense of comfort for them being the yellow flowers it tended. I reached outwards to their shoulder to tell them that ,“Everything was going to be fine.” But my hand phased through them as if I never existed.

“ _Find him_ …”

I flinched at the voice, it was the first time I had heard something speak in a long time. It sounded feminine and a bit echoey like they were in a large tunnel. 

“ _Find him_ …” It repeated again.

I was confused as to what it meant.

“Find who?” I questioned 

“Find the Angel Of Death. He can help you.” She said

I was once again at a loss for words. Was she referring to the Grim Reaper? 

“How could the Grim Reaper help me? He was the one to bring me here!” 

“You misunderstand. I’m not referring to the embodiment of death incarnate, but the boy in front of you.”

I felt my brow furrow “Why call them that then?” 

“That is one of his titles. I would give you a name, but I feel that it would be better to learn his name personally. You two will do great things together.”, she replied cryptically. 

“I’m so lost right now.” I muttered.

A giggle broke from the voice “You will understand in due time. In the meantime, I need you to do some things for me.” 

I sighed loudly “I have officially lost my sanity. Alright, what do you want me to do all powerful god.”

“I truly am so flattered that you would refer to me with such high regard, but I am not who you speak of.” 

**That got an eyebrow raise from me.**

“So wait he's real?”

“I don’t know. Is she?” 

Oof she has some sass with all that class. Honestly I'm just glad to have something that talks to me even if it's a voice in my head. I mean who's gonna judge, the crowd around me?

“Alright what do you want me to do?” 

Her requests came in a simple and hard variety. The first one was to keep going in a straight line in the void. The other was to have faith in her. She explained that it would be a good while before we could talk again. So I would be going straight through a void for a voice that was possibly a figment of my insane mind. But I didn't have anything better to do, so I went. I would go forward without stopping with the exception of sleeping to regain energy. I don’t even know how I can get tired. I’m dead. Aren’t I? 

Despite all of the doubt in my mind, I made it a routine. Float across the void in a straight line for as long as I could. Get tired. Question why I’m doing this. Sleep. Have that weird dream again. Wake up and repeat. Where am I even going? I don’t know, but if there was a road and I had an iPhone, mp3 and a camera, the first thing I would be playing is “Ran So Far Away” By the Flying Seagulls so I could make a montage like Forest Gump did. Unfortunately, the sightseeing here was crappy, and I didn’t have those things; so, my imagination would have to do. 

This repeat had to have happened at least 20 times. So, as the reasonable people would say “This shit sucked.” It was boring and tiring both on my mind and soul.

I began to slow down from lack of motivation. Lack of motivation soon turned to anger for wasting my time.

“Hey lady!” No response.

“HEY!” Still no response.

“I know you can hear me! How much longer do I have to go on for!”

“……. Close.” It was all I got as a response for all the trouble I went through, and I growled in frustration. 

I looked up getting ready to shout at the voice when I saw something. A white dot in the dark above me. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Is this the end of my long trip?”

“Yes it is” She confirmed.

I float up towards the speck. Watching it take shape the closer I got. After so long, I had arrived to find something besides more emptiness. I eventually got close enough to see that it was a humanoid shape. Wait, are those yellow flowers? I felt my eyes widen. This was like my dream. A small white monster was in front of me holding a white light shaped like a heart.

“You’re...real?” 

The monster whipped their head around making eye contact with me.


	2. A Strange Companion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be it human or monster trauma does change even the most kind hearted.

For a moment, only awkward silence filled the empty space around us. The kid only met me with wide emerald green eyes in what I guess was genuine shock and confusion. Long ears hung at the side of his head kinda like a Ushanka. The horns on his head made him look strangely goat-like.

“Who are you!?”

His erupt hostility made me flinch even for a small thing like him. I had this foreboding sense of pain if I didn’t get on his good side soon.  
“I won’t ask again.” His palms opened up and started producing...flames!

“Whoa, WHOA hold on-” I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not here to hurt you!”

The pyromaniac raised his palm at me and held it at me, the flames in his hands growing brighter. I was actually beginning to feel the heat despite me being a good 5 feet away from him.

“WHO SENT YOU!? Was it Gaster or did Chara not feel the need to face me personally!”

“I don’t even know who the hell a Chara or a Gaster is!” I yelled exasperatingly.

“LIAR!”

So, all in all, the introduction was going great. I was being threatened by someone who looked like they were 12, and I was cowering like a baby. I should have been able to take him. I mean, he was 4’3” in comparison to my 5’5” if it wasn’t for the fact that he could make FIRE out of thin air. So I opted for negotiations with the hope that he didn’t torch me.  
I attempted to make myself seem less threatening by keeping my hands out where he could see them.

“Can you just hear me out, please?” I looked him in the eye to try to show I genuinely didn’t want to pull anything funny. He regarded me for a moment, and I was worried that he was going to just light me on fire on the spot. Thankfully, the intensity of the flames lowered a tad, but I could tell he was still on guard.

“Talk.”

“Well, what do you want to know?” I asked.

“Your name would be a good start.” He replied.

Ah well shit. Might as well get the hard stuff out of the way.

“I don’t remember my name. My memory of my past, except for a few minor things like music and games.”

He looked at me quizzically.

“You don’t know your own name?”

I shook my head.

“No, I don’t.”

Since I didn’t really know his name I decided on calling him Pyro because he had flamethrowers for hands.

As if he could hear my thoughts, he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Ok, If you won’t give me even a name then at least answer me this. How are you here?”

I don’t think telling him that a voice in my head leading me here would be very smart, so I’ll just have to go for a half truth. I held my hands to my chest feeling the phantom pain of the bullets.

“I died” I said tonelessly.

He looked surprised for a moment. Then his expression softened, "So you came here the same way I did.”

Oh, I was intrigued now.

“You died too?”

He nodded looking grim now.

“Oh…” I was at a loss for words. Their flames completely extinguished, and he lowered his hands and went in a sitting position.

I relaxed also getting in a sitting position, but I kept my space. “You know I could be feeding you crap right now. There’s no reason for you to believe me.” I said.

The child nodded again. “That would be true if we met when we were alive, but us monsters can read souls especially when you’re a literal embodiment of yours.”

I raised my brow “You can tell if I’m lying just by looking at me?”

Another nod from him.

Silence once again filled the space between us. I took this as an opportunity to retry introductions.

“....I know that this is a bit sudden and uncreative but just call me “Sam or Samuel.” A temporary name till I can eventually remember my old name.

“Sam huh?-” He tilts his head to the side, joggling the name around in his head I bet. “Sam is a good name. Simple to remember.” He floats forward allowing me to see him in extra detail. He had some sharp looking fangs, and his hands were more claws than well... hands. I bet he could kill someone with those if he tried.  
He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but there is dangerous stuff out in the void. So I had to be careful.”

I waved it off “That’s fine, lets just pretend that the last couple minutes didn’t happen.”

He agrees, holding his claw out awkwardly for me to shake. “Howdy! My name is Asriel.”

Awesome. Someone who is as socially awkward as I am. Introverts UNITE!

I grabbed his claw and shook “Pleased to meet ya. Call me Sam.”

It took a bit of time to get accustomed to each other because neither of us had the luxury of having another being to talk to for a long time (The voice in my head doesn't count), but we did eventually get somewhat comfortable after some small talk on things we liked. Games, cultural stuff, all that good jazz.  
To alleviate some of the boredom, we would talk about some experiences we had when we were alive. Nothing personal, but the occasional funny or cool thing. I told him about new video games and anime that came out when I was in the living world, and that caught his attention. Especially when I mentioned Monster Hunter. I told him about it as a joke, but he went quiet for a moment. I was worried that I went too far before he let out a small chuckle. He did find that bit of irony comical. Imagine a monster playing a game about hunting monsters.

He occasionally would share stories of when he would sneak out to steal pie at night. His mom was apparently a really good baker but would limit the amount of pieces he could take. He could have no more than two a day. However, that didn't stop his attempts to get extras. His dad was a stealth master occasionally using Asriel as a diversion if he made too much noise, staying in the dark and distributing the weight of his feet to minimize sound. Asriel decided to take a few notes and tried his hand at it. As it turned out, he was a fast learner. However, his methods were caught on after slices were mysteriously disappearing. He and his dad had to face the music via a giant ruler to the back of the hand. I think I saw him rub the back of his hand as though he could still feel it.

He then told me about magic. His mother taught him the fundamentals, even actually going out to spar with her. Asriel describes his mother as strict and terrifying when she was in the zone. Outside of training though, she was the sweetest mom he could ever have. I could believe it. I just wish I could remember mine so I could tell him about my family. I only had this vague feeling that mine was unusual.

More time passed. I came to realize that after talking with Asriel for a bit that he was actually really intelligent, even having a grasp on more difficult subjects like quantum physics. He would talk about time travel and concepts of parallel universes like it was his life. Seeing as he was actually really smart, I wanted to ask him about a possible theory of where this void was.

“Hey Asriel?”

“What?”

“The universe has an edge even though it’s always expanding right?”

Asriel crosses his arms looking interested “Right.”

“So past the edge there is nothing there right?”

“Yes? Where are you going with this?”

“I’m just wondering if the void is past the edge. You know where the universe itself has yet to expand.”

The goat monster looked confused then his eyes lit up in understanding.

“Huh, I never thought of it like that.”-He unfolded his arms. "But that’s just speculation that we sadly can’t confirm. I mean look around how can we tell where the edge is?”

He was right. There was no way to tell where the edge started as there was no light anywhere to point the way. Sighing in disappointment, I wondered if there was actually a way out of this place.

Asriel’s POV:  
Sam was unusual for a lack of better words. When we first met he didn’t even care about my appearance. I remember how fearful Chara was of monsters when I found her injured amongst the bed of golden flowers. Being the only human it took weeks for her to somewhat adjust to the existence of monsters. Though in his case, the void here had a big part in this. When he came to me, his eyes screamed desperation. I didn’t know what it was at first, so I assumed that Chara had his soul hostage and sent him after me or another one of Gaster’s experiments went loose as he would never let a human go willingly. But no that wasn’t the case at all. He was desperate for companionship, and when I heard he came here after death, I at least somewhat knew of his pain.

Before I died, Chara was my only friend. Even with the secrets she kept from me about her past and her occasional use of manipulating me for her own gain, I still wanted her to be my best friend. She was the only one that didn’t fear me for my title. “The Prince Of Monsters.” Almost every monster was kind to me out of fear of my title or because they wanted benefits from my mom and dad. Chara didn’t really care for it though. She actually would mock it occasionally until she realized that she was adopted under our family. “Princess Chara Dreemur.” The title rubbed her the wrong way, especially when I was eager to get her back by calling her princess whenever she did girl stuff. I smiled at the memory for a moment before it went back into a grimace. Having someone who didn’t care for your title was a breath of fresh air, especially for a 10 year old who wanted “REAL” friends. Alas no good thing lasts forever and in our case it ended in a tragedy. Chara accidently poisoned dad by putting buttercup petals in the tea. At the time, we didn’t even know that buttercups were poisonous. It was meant to be a nice surprise for dad, and it only ended up with him bedridden for a week.

Chara laughed it off and knowing her now it was a defense mechanism against the dread of poisoning our own dad. Thankfully mom let us off the hook because we didn’t know better and was there to help dad recover. She also had to attend for his royal duties since he was out of commission, which left her constantly distracted. That’s when Chara started planning for a way to break the barrier. A magical prison made by 7 of the most powerful human mages meant to seal all monsters away from the human world after the war between humans and monsters that happened over a millennia ago. Chara found out that the barrier could be passed if a human and monster soul were fused together. So, she called me in secret and told me about a plan that she was putting together. In order for a monster to absorb a human soul, the soul must be detached from the body by killing the host, so she took the buttercups that she accidently poisoned dad with and made me promise to never tell anyone about her plan, and that it all would succeed if I followed along. I was reluctant to the idea but the pleading look in her eyes meant I couldn’t say no because I was afraid she would hate me for not following in her plan. So, I agreed to what would be my fatal mistake.

A week passed dad recovered, but the plan was in motion. Chara had fallen ill from the buttercups she ate leaving her in agony. Doctors that came couldn’t figure out a way to help because they had no experience with human biology. She was going to die, and I knew the answer to what caused her so much suffering. The overwhelming guilt in me almost made me confess everything but even at her deathbed Chara stopped me.

“Azzy...don’t tell them...we’re so close...to being free.” She sounded so...weak. I broke down holding her hand in her final moments. Before I knew it, she died in my hands. The poison doing its job at last. Her soul was floating above her, cracking but still in one piece from the sheer determination to make this work. So, out of grief, I absorbed her soul. I felt my body shift. My body becoming taller, tougher, and stronger. I had taken the form of an adult version of myself. The power within me was staggering.

My parents must have felt the magical energy because I heard them yell for my name, but I heard Chara call for me as well.

“Asriel, run we can’t let them stop us. Cross the barrier, now!”

I was in shock. We had become one with each other's mind and soul. I couldn’t move out of the sheer fact of hearing her voice in my head, but she moved my legs for me. I was quick enough to grab her body before we ran for the barrier. She asked me before she initiated the plan to bury her under a bed of golden flowers in her home village. It was the least I could do for her after she sacrificed herself for us. I remember seeing the sun for the first time when I crossed, and wow was it something. I had to take a moment to feel the sunlight and wind pass through my fur. I had almost forgotten that we were here to take human souls for everyone underground to have this feeling until Chara reminded me that it was time to move on.

We practically flew down the mountainside to my increase of speed and ran out in the direction Chara told me to go. I stopped looking back once more at the mountain. The humans had taken to calling it Mount Ebott, it was our prison, but ironically it looked beautiful from the outside. I turned away and continued forward weaving between trees and rocks. It didn’t take long to find her village at the pace we were going. It looked old, rundown and empty. Where were the other humans? Chara at this point had gone silent as I walked to the center of the village she once called home. I looked around, but there were still no signs of life nearby. I eventually found the bed of flowers where I could bury her. I began approaching them when I heard a woman scream to my right.

“MONSTER! MURDERER!” I looked over to see the terrified woman cowering at the front door of one of the run down houses. The act of commotion brought others out of their homes with looks of horror, anger and disgust.

“FREAK, YOU’RE A FREAK!” I heard one man yell

“YOU KILLED THEM” Another shouted.

I looked back down at my arms at Chara’s body. They thought I killed her.

“NO WAIT I DID-” But my pleads were cut short. I had been struck from behind by something. I whipped my head around to see the women from earlier now armed with a hammer. Another pain but sharp this time in my hip. I shouted in pain to see that I was stabbed by a spear. More humans came out with varying weapons to “avenge” one of their own. Chara’s anger became apparent after I was struck again.

“KILL THEM-” Chara shouted in anger “MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO US!”

For a moment, I considered it. But back then the thought of killing someone...ending their existence was too much. Even when they struck me blow for blow I didn’t raise a finger toward them.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? GET UP! FIGHT BACK!” Chara’s anger was beginning to direct at me.

“N-no.”  
Chara was the type of person who always wanted to be in control of everything, so when I refused, the results weren’t pretty.

“No?”

The way she said it sent chills up my back. I felt this weird sensation like I was being pulled away. My limbs weren’t responding to my commands anymore. I was being thrown into the back seat of my mind. Then I saw them. They looked the same as they did when they were alive. Then they turned to look at me. I flinched back causing me to fall over my own feet. I scrambled away from them. Their eyes were completely black with an ink like substance flowing down like blood.

They looked like a demon. My sister was no longer there, only an empty husk filled with hatred to all humanity. I was terrified of her.

“C-chara”-I was trembling “What happened to you?”

She smiled sinisterly. “Oh Azzy you idiot.Since when were you the one in control?”

She pulled out a sword using my body’s magic and swung with a horizontal slice meant to completely tear everyone around us in half.

“NO!” I yanked back control, tossing Chara away right when the blade nearly met with a man’s neck. Had I been a second slower he would have been dead right then and there.

All the humans stopped attacking at the sheer speed that the blades Chara spawned moved. They backed away, but the damage was already done. I was covered in fatal wounds, and I could feel myself beginning to turn to dust. So I grabbed Chara’s body once again and ran as fast as I could home. Chara was once again silent. She knew what was going to happen. Our plan had failed and we were going to die together for absolutely nothing. To top it off, it was my fault as well. I had been too soft at the time. When we finally made it back to the mountain, my time was nearly up. The sky darkened, and I felt rain. I had never felt rain before, at least not fresh from the sky. It drenched my fur causing coldness to spread through my body. Bursting passed the barrier, I saw mom and dad waiting for me. The look of relief they had quickly shifted to terror. Of course the pain finally caught up with me, and I fell forward. I was caught by giant fuzzy hands. “Dad…”

“Asriel…son-” The look of devastation on his face was heartbreaking. Mom had tears in her eyes desperately trying to heal me, but the wounds were too severe. She must have known that she couldn't save me because she broke down into sobs.

I could only offer an apology. “Mom, Dad… I’m sorry. I wanted to free us...for us to be happy. To feel the sun with everyone... but I failed.”

I had never seen dad cry before, but it was the last thing I saw before darkness began taking me.

“Chara...please forgive me.”

“....I hate you.”

It was the last thing I heard before I ended up here. It stung worse than any weapon these humans used against me.

I was 10 when that happened. My body has stayed the same ever since that day, but mentally I was over a hundred at least. I sighed sadly before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly at the contact.

“You ok?” I heard Sam ask.

“Yea.”

“...You're crying..”

I rub my hand across my eye, and felt something wet. I had been crying, and I didn’t even know it.

“You can talk about it with me if you want. I’m not here to judge.” Sam offered.

I opened my mouth before shutting it and shook my head. It was tempting but too personal of a thing.

“I understand.” He said quietly.

“I’ll give you some space though if you want you can watch me do some sick stunts, like this backflip.”

My eyes widened “No WAIT don’t!” It was too late.

“OH SHIIIIIIiiit”-He was backflipping away from me and it looked to me that he didn't know how to stop. This idiot.

“OH GOD Asriel. I have made a MISTAKE!”

For a moment, I forgot about what made me sad in the first place, Sam was a pretty cool guy even if he is a bit awkward at times. I thanked him mentally for the momentary distraction before flying off to get him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two for two and I still have more.


	3. A Magic Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It doesn't take long for someone to find them. I mean a human and boss monster soul does warrant attention.

Sam’s POV:  
After Asriel was able to stop my endless backflip loop into the abyss, he thanked me for trying to cheer him up. He also advised me not to do stunts like that without him watching, or we may never find each other again. Of course I agreed so I wouldn’t stress him out into thinking that I was floating away, and he wouldn’t even know it.

I decided to actually give him time to recover from the emotional distress by giving him space, which he was also thankful for. I didn’t go too far though. Just enough to still have a line of sight on each other. Laying back, I wondered what could have upset him so much. One moment he was perfectly fine then boom he starts tearing up. I won’t force him to speak about his problems but I’ll wait patiently for him.

While I waited, I thought up theories and guesses as to what the void was and how we could leave this place. I mean there has to be some way out. Everything has some kind of flaw so maybe there is an opening here. But how could I find it? Was this place truly endless? No matter, I will find a way out of this abyss with Asriel. In the meantime, though, I have some ideas to mull over.

LOCATION:☜︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎⬥︎♒︎♏︎❒︎♏︎ ♌︎◆︎⧫︎ ■︎□︎⬥︎♒︎♏︎❒︎♏︎ POV:👎︎□︎♍︎⧫︎□︎❒︎✍︎  
How very interesting. It seems that an anomaly was able to slip into my domain without my notice. “Sam” is what the individual refers to himself as. He has an extremely unusual energy within his soul, I am surprised the prince has yet to notice it. Hmm...maybe a bit of “encouragement” to draw out this energy should be put in order. I reach out into the void and pull at its energy to summon my minion. A shadow knight appears before me and kneels.

“I await your orders 👎︎□︎♍︎⧫︎□︎❒︎.”

Turning back to the general direction of the anomaly, a grin reaches my face. He could be the key to making me whole again.

“I want you to test him. Do not kill him but push him to draw out this strange power I sense and be wary the prince will be nearby to guard him.”

The knight acknowledged me with a nod and disappeared off to do his task. If his soul is as powerful as I think it is, then an exit out of this pit of darkness may be plausible.

Sam’s POV:

So it seems that I was on this task for far longer than I thought because Asriel finally decided to see what I was doing after his alone time.

I turn to greet him “Ah Asriel have you finally come to join me in my brainstorming?”

He raised his brow. “Umm, brainstorming what?”

I grab him by the shoulders

“I’m glad you asked.”

I let go and dramatically opened my arms up at the void. “You see, I have been thinking up ideas of how we can get out of this place.”

Asriel rolls his eyes “Oh boy…”

So began a long explanation of the many insane ideas that I planned. It actually went on for a long time, so I’ll save you the time and boredom and just skip to the last bit of the super genius ideas I had.

“Then we pick up enough speed to shatter space and time where we will eventually find an alternate universe.” I took a deep breath “So what do you think?”

Asriel had his hands in the “boi” position “Ok first of all neither of us have the speed to hit the speedforce nor could we withstand the friction if we did. It would be extremely painful handling that many g’s even as a soul and more than likely we could be rubber banded backwards if we slowed down for a moment at that speed. Second, cutting the fabrics of space requires a LOT of power. I have magic, yes but nowhere near enough to be the anime character you want me to be. Lastly, that literally sounded like something you pulled from a comic book.”

“You don’t know that!”

“..................”

“Ok I did, but you could have at least amused me a bit.”

He snorted at that. “Sorry for being-” Asriel went quiet and his eyes narrowed down to an concerningly angry state. “...Ummm are you ok? Cause you kinda just cut your-”

“DUCK!”

I dropped down and felt something huge fly over my head.

“Holy Crap!”

I looked at the thing that nearly took my head off to see it already coming back for a second run. I braced myself waiting to dodge at the last second but found that it wasn't necessary when a huge ball of fire engulfed the damn thing.

I looked back to see Asriel...but bigger? His claws got sharper, his horns were now fully formed and he looked like a young adult around his early 20’s.  
“Whoa…” It was the only thing my brain could come up with. Didn’t he say that he couldn’t be the anime character I wanted him to be? What a liar.

“So the doctor has finally found us and has sent one of his lap dogs to do his job.” Asriel mocked what looked to be a knight. He looked humanoid but the shadowy appearance told me that wasn’t the case or at least I think not.

The knight stood up tall looking to be unbothered by the flames.  
“He has ordered for the human not you. Move aside, or I will make you.”

Asriel floated in front of me clearly unbothered by the threat.

The knight across from us scoffed “The sheer arrogance of royalty.” Asriel still didn’t look bothered though and started summoning more fire in his hands looking to throw...well hands. This is clearly not a place I should be, so I backed away as the two stared each other down.

“This should be fun.” I heard him say as the knight launched at him at high speed.

A flaming fist clashed with a large metal fist causing a small shockwave to reverberate in the abyss signaling the true start of the battle. The knight broke off first using his larger build to push Asriel away from him. The goat monster responded by throwing fireballs at the knight. However, it was expected when the shadowy being weaved between them in a deceptive show of agility for its size before charging forward. Asriel saw this and decided to toss a fireball at it’s lower legs causing the knight to fly over the projectile and attempt for an overhead punch at Asriel, but he simply grinned and ducked under the punch, punishing the knight with his own attack by shoving a flaming fist into its stomach.It grunted in pain and attempted to grab at his head but was blasted back with flames that he readied with his other hand causing the knight to spin off for a moment before it righted itself.

Now it was Asriel’s turn to go on the offensive. Instead of charging at him though, he raised one of his hands into the air, and I felt my hair stand up slightly with the feeling of static in the air. The knight must have noticed as well as it took a more defensive posture. Asriel then clenched his fist, and I was blinded by a very bright light and the sound of thunder causing me to cry out in surprise. I blinked and rubbed my eyes to see what had happened to only notice that the knight was no longer there. I looked over at Asriel who breathed out a sigh of relief.

“D-did you get him?” I called out skeptically.

That fight was pretty anti climatic if that was the case. Not that I really minded. Better to end it quickly, then drag it on.

Asriel looked around “Yeah I think he ran away, must be”- *HuRk*

I felt cold metal hands on my neck, and I couldn’t breath. Panic filled my soul.

“SAM!” I heard someone yell out for me, and I could only move my eyes to see Asriel’s horrified look.

“You honestly expected this to be easy?” The Knight said condescendingly.

“Let him GO!”

I felt his grip loosen, and I gasped for air, coughing.

“As you wish.”

I was thrown upwards causing me to shout out in terror before I felt a force pull me down to where the knight was. Then something hit me...HARD, causing me to fly across the void at highspeeds. I felt myself slam into something soft and stop me from propelling onwards.

“Sam!”

Soft hands touched the wound on my stomach and a green energy emitted from their palms. The agony in my stomach dulled down to an ache.

“OW...OW...God why!?”

I felt the hands pull away, and I looked up to see a distressed looking Asriel.

“You ok?” He asked

I gave a thumbs up “Yea...Yea I’m good now just a bit achy.”

I sat up slowly “So...you can heal now?”

He helped me up “I’ve always been able to heal. There are things I can do besides fire you know.”

I shifted my eyes back at Sir Ass-a-Lot. He had been watching...why didn’t he attack while Asriel was healing me?

Asriel stood up gathering more fire in hand and began to approach the knight.

“I’ll be sure that I won’t pull such a rookie mistake again.”

I moved back again. This time being sure to stay a bit closer so that I could quickly get to Asriel if this thing pulls a disappearing act again. The goat monster chucked a fireball at it. It impacted, but just like before either it didn’t affect him or he wasn’t showing any signs of fatigue to look tough. Asriel grunted in annoyance at the fact that his attacks were being shrugged off like it was nothing. The shadow Knight reached slowly around it’s back and pulled out a bow.

I could have sworn that he had nothing on him when he came in, but magic is magic, so I’m willing to bet he just summoned the thing. I began to sweat nervously for Asriel’s sake cause if he loses, this thing won’t spare any mercy for him. I grit my teeth from fear and anger at the sheer thought of my only friend in this place being pierced by an arrow. If he loses, the only option I have is to turn myself to this thing.

Asriel’s POV:  
To think Gaster would send one of his more powerful bootlickers. He must have been aware that I was here. By removing me, he can conduct more of his unethical “experiments” more freely, and if he gets Samuel, he can fuse himself with his soul to gain even more power. Essentially, crushing two birds with one stone. His plans can be simple on some days but efficient. Curse him! To make things worse, my opponent is extremely resilient to my attacks because of that damn armor. Wait, he is about to make a move.

The knight used its magic to make shadows arrows, knocking 3 of them up. I tensed myself ready to dodge anything coming my way. He released the string, and the arrows flew at an alarming speed. I attempted flying over them feeling the wind as they shot past only to see them curve back.

Shit, they can track me. I sped off by continuing to fly up and tried pulling an emergency dive for an extra boost in momentum. I twisted, did barrel rolls, any maneuver I could think of in an attempt to confuse the tracking, but they were still coming and gaining on me. I looked over at the Shadow Knight and noticed him watching. I turned left keeping an eye on him and saw him tilt his bow to the left, I went up and he tilted his bow up. Wait a second. I tried another emergency dive, and he pointed his bow down.

I knew it so he is controlling them manually! It’s no wonder he hadn’t shot more, he has to focus on moving them to where they need to go. Time for one of the oldest tricks in the book but with a little bit of an extra surprise. I flew at him, and the arrows followed, though he must have caught on quickly to part one of my plan because he nocked up another arrow and fired while I approached in an attempt to stop me. I wouldn’t be deterred though as I ducked and weaved around each shot. The knight seemed to get nervous as I got close and stopped shooting arrows.

“Come on stay right there for me, I DARE you!” I challenged.

I summoned my own weapon, the “Chaos Saber” . It was the same sword Chara attempted to kill the humans with in the last moments of our lives. I raised it in a stabbing position. It's a bit weaker, but it’ll still do its job powered up or not. I reached my destination but only flew through the air as the knight escaped at the last second by flying up above me.

“Hah you thought you could fool me with that trick? I cannot understand why Gaster regarded such a fool with high regard..” The Shadow Knight taunted.  
I smirked and used my momentum to pull a vertical U-turn right at the knights back.  
“Gotcha.”

He turned around just in time to see me coming back at him clearly taken aback at the control I had in my maneuvering. *Shink*

The blade went into his hip causing the knight to yell in pain. I felt metal hands grab on my horn, but I simply gripped the blade tighter and twisted causing him to groan and shove me away again. But it’s too late the damage was already done. Unfortunately for me Gaster’s minions don’t come with vital organs, or it would have been over already. He is only moderately injured, not defeated.

“YOU-” The knight pulled a red headed arrow out from his magic, this type of magic looks familiar. “HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME! I’LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!” He was angry now and more dangerous. Whatever magic that he infused the arrow head with could seriously hurt if it hits. He nocked it and aimed it at me. I eyed my saber that was still planted in his hip. All I have to do is get to my Saber and I’ll be able to kill him...temporarily. With a loud snap from the bowstring the arrow jetted at me. I tilted my head feeling it graze and cut my cheek.

“That was your one shot, you’re done.”

The knight lowered his bow.

”Maybe, but so is he if you don’t help him.”

“Asriel help!”

I froze feeling an icy chill in my soul and turned to see Sam being chased by the arrow I just dodged . He’s trying to outmaneuver it, but he’s nowhere near as experienced as I am in flight, especially in combat. There was no way he would be able to outrun this thing long enough to cross the distance to the knight and the fact made me clench my fist.

“You COWARD!” I darted at Sam, hearing the sounds of the Knight laughing from behind me.

Sam’s POV: Honestly it’s times like this where I wish that I wasn’t only deadweight in a fight like this. All I can do is panic and attempt to get away from the upcoming projectile of death zipping behind me. If I get out of this, I owe Asriel a BIG apology, but more than likely that won’t be the case. Dying once sucks. I don’t want to know if it can happen twice, but I don’t want to find out. I tried some minor aerial maneuvers just like he did, but I was too inexperienced to pull them off correctly. I looked back and saw the red arrow head nearly was upon me, so I shut my eyes and hoped that God would show mercy wherever I ended up.

“Oof” Something slammed into, but there wasn’t a lot of pain except from the initial impact. It felt like a football player shoulder charged me. I looked back to see Asriel there. He had his back turned and was hunched over. I felt my stomach drop.

“No…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh being your own writer and editor is kind of a pain. I'm just now noticing grammar and spelling errors but hey no one is perfect.


	4. Let There Be Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voice in Sam's head offers their help.

Sam's POV:

Looking at the arrow embedded in Asriel’s back, I began to realize that my worst fears of becoming alone again were about to become a reality. He was going to get killed, and it was going to be my fault. I couldn’t protect myself, so now my only friend here is going to pay for it on my behalf. The arrow hissed and steam began to emit from the impact point of the arrow. It caused Asriel to gasp in pain and keel over.

“Asriel!” I yell out. I fly over and kneel next to him. I remembered Asriel telling me that monsters can’t bleed because they are made mostly from magic. I grab the arrow tightly.

“I’m sorry.” I was never really one for sappiness but knowing that I was the cause of this was definitely pushing me down an emotional hill. I yank the arrow out causing him to cry out from the pain.

“You’re ok….You’re ok…” I was mostly trying to convince myself so I wouldn’t panic, but I could feel myself beginning to slip. I was no doctor, but I could tell that whatever that thing fused the arrow head with had been made specifically to cause maximum pain and injury.

A gruff voice from behind me spoke “Do you see what happens when one resists me human?”

I grit my teeth and swing behind me with my fist only for it to connect with the metal plating on his torso.*Clang* In hindsight, it was a bad idea to punch at someone in armor, but I was too angry to think. Even with the stinging sensation in my knuckles, I tried hitting him again and again.

“Condescending-” *clang* “Bastard!” *clang. I shout between swings.

He caught my fist and pulls me up so that we were face to face.

“The doctor said that he wanted you alive, and I am to abide by his orders.”

I growled at him “ You can tell your doctor to go off himself. I don’t want anything to do with freaks like you and him!”

“I don’t think I was clear enough. I’ll bring you in alive…-” He raises his fist. “But just barely.”

The knight, all of a sudden, sidesteps a kick from Asriel and catches his foot. The look of shock on his face told me that he wasn’t expecting for him to move like that. It was a last ditch effort to beat him, but now the jig was up.

“Don’t think I forgot about you prince.” He tosses him up in the air and then raised his arm and did a pulling motion. A faint blue outline appeared around his body.  
I could feel the cold pit in my stomach return. This was the same move he did on me when he snuck his way around us. Asriel was pulled down at an alarming speed.

“No wait stop!” I plead

“Too late.”

He tenses his leg and kneed Asriel in the stomach causing spittle to fly out of his mouth. He went limp on the knights knee completely conked out of whatever energy he had left in him and was then pushed off. A white light appeared around his body, and he was shifted back to his small form again. It was just me and him now.

“ _Sam…”_ It’s that ladies voice again.

_“Sam you can’t win like this.”_

I look over at Asriel’s unconscious body floating in the void in complete horror. Then the anger flooded back.

“You think I don’t know that!”

Silence was all I got in reply, so I took that as my signal to continue.

“I’ve only known him for a bit but he’s the only friend that I have and so as long as I am still able to move, I will do whatever I can in my power to ensure that he gets to see the sun again! It’s the least I could do for him after he took a literal arrow for me because I was too weak to fend for myself!”

The knight turns back at me thinking that the enraged shouting was directed at him. “No matter what you think you can do, I was assigned a task, and I will fulfill it.” He responds.

 _“Sam…”_ Despite my outburst, she still sounded as soft spoken and calm as usual.

_“What would you give to have the power to save him?”_

“Anything.” I said without hesitation. “I never want to be in that lonely hell again.”

 _“Then I shall give the power to escape to a place he could never reach. However, be warned when you receive this power, you will receive a heavy burden as well...if you survive the process that is.”_ She said seriously.

“...Do it.”  
I was immediately engulfed in a beam of light that burned like hellfire on my soul.

POV: Gaster

“I had thought that my test for the human’s special power was a failure, but this….this might be it!”

I was excited seeing the beam of light engulf the human and the sounds of pained screaming. Something was happening to him, and I can’t wait to see the end results. My minion below shifted backwards at the display in front of him.

“Doctor, what is happening?”

The light abruptly fades as quick as it came. The human was kneeling and his eyes closed like as if he was before a king.

“Doctor!?” He asked again, but the concern was much more obvious in his voice this time.

The human opens his eyes and we saw nothing but darkness in them except for the two glowing white dots for pupils.

I grin “It seems our test was successful.” A tail shifted behind the human covered in a black armored plating with the end of it sharpened like a blade. It curls up like a scorpion stinger then points at my creation. Fascinating….

“Erembour, I want you to retrieve him and bring him to me. Use caution. We do not know of his abilities.” I commanded.

“Yes, doctor.”

Sam’s POV?:  
It was the most painful several seconds I have felt in my afterlife and living life, but I felt stronger. Like I could take on the world with my two bare hands.

 _“Sam, are you ok?”_ I heard my lady friend ask.

My hands clench into a fist.

“I’m better than ok.” I assured

I heard her breathe out a sigh of relief. _“The fusion was a success.”_

I look up “ **YoU**.” My voice sounds deeper than normal, almost beast like especially when I was pissed off the way I was.

The knight was taken aback at this and actually backed off to re-evaluate me.  
 _“You don’t have long in this form I have given. Your soul isn’t used to this amount of power, and you’ll be feeling it’s strain very soon enough. You must escape now.”_ She informed me.

I scoffed at this “And let him walk away after what he did to us?”

 _“Sam.”_ Her tone was that of a disappointed mother scolding a child.

An involuntary growl rumbled in my throat. “FINE but not without Asriel.”

_“I will open up a portal behind him, but you will have to be quick. If he intercepts it, he can close it with his void magic, and it’ll be over for you two.”_

I tensed my body, lining myself up to Asriel, so I could charge in a straight line and grab him.

 _“Ready?_ ” She asked

“Ready.”

A large bang sounded off behind the knight indicating the portal my lady friend summoned was open.

“Wha-”

His brief distraction was all the time needed. I rush as fast as I could at him and shoulder bash him out of the way causing him to fly out of control. I grab Asriel by the back of his shirt and flew straight through the portal.

The last thing I heard from the knight before my vision was covered by white was a loud resounding sound of enraged screaming. I didn’t get to beat his ass like I wanted but leaving him trapped here would have to do for now. I was dropped out into solid ground much more quickly than I expected causing me to faceplant into the ground and drop Asriel. I groaned picking myself up from...grass?

I look up to see that we were in some kind of forest. With the sun peeking above the horizon on an orange sky, I assumed it was dawn. I reach out at it, feeling it’s warmth on me. “Hello Mr. Sun it’s been a long time hasn’t it?” I said with a genuine smile on my face. The shock and exhaustion finally overcame me, and I blackout.


	5. Dead Among The Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finally gets a name from the voice that helped him.

Sam’s POV:  
 _“Sam...Sam……”_

I groan in irritation “ Just 5 more minutes mom.”

“Sam it’s time to get up.”

My eyes crack open only to be immediately blinded.

“AUGH, What the hell is that!?”

A feminine chuckle reverberated in my head _“That is what you would call the Sun Sam.”_

Rubbing my eyes I stood up groggily trying to get my brain to wake up. 

_“Welcome back to the land of the living Sam.”_

My eyes widen. Memories of what had just happened filled my mind. The Void, The Knight, The short moment of being empowered and….”OH SHIT ASRIEL!”

I scanned rapidly through the trees and rocks surrounding me. No sight of him though.

 _“Look in those bushes in front of you.”_ My lady friend advised

Taking her advice I scrambled to the bush and went to dig through. Noticing a splotch of white in the greenery I want to dig him out only to recoil in shock. My hands were semi transparent like as though I was a ghost.

“Ah yes I probably should have been more specific when I said, Welcome to the living world I meant that you’re here as spirits.” She clarified.

Continuing my task of getting Asriel out the bush I ask her a question.

“So we’re here but since our physical bodies are gone we can only stay as ghosts?”

_“Correct. However I have a solution for your predicaments all though it won’t be very easy.”_

I finally uncovered him. He was still completely out of it so I picked him up and slung him over my shoulders. Good thing he was in his kiddy form or I might not have been able to move him.

“I’m all for ideas here lady.”

She went quiet indicating her thinking. _“Very well. All though I would prefer if you were to refer to me by name.”_

Raising a brow I came to realize something. “Huh...I actually never did get your name.”

 _“Oh...apologies.”_ She sounded a bit flustered. _“You may call me Drakaina.”_

Uhhh...that’s a rather unique name.

“Drakaina? Never heard someone call themselves that before.”

_“Well that would be because my name was given to me by the Greek mages.”_

“…...Wait what?”

_“I’ll explain in due time Sam, in the meantime I have an idea as to how to gain your physical body back and maybe your friend’s as well. However it will require him to be fully recovered for the process to begin.”_

I began to walk trying to search for a more comfortable place to hide out in.

“Can you at least give me the general idea here as to why he’s needed in your plan?”

_“Sam you have magic now...my magic but it is uncontrolled and raw. However you do not have a teacher to help control the power I have bestowed onto you. I would do it myself however I am in a place that is inescapable by normal means.”_

A curious brow raises from me "Place? Where were you even placed?"

_"The Anti Void a prison that constantly limits my power. I can only pull moves like what you saw once in a while so be careful."_

That got me interested "Anti Void? What even is that?"

_"Just imagine the void but everything is white instead of black, it doesn't follow my commands either so I have to output so much magic to do half of what I do. It's exhausting."_

Huh that sucks.

Seeing a little cave to hide in that wasn’t to big but just enough to hide away from the outside world I went in and set Asriel down laying him on his back. She decided to continue her explanation of her plan.

_“If you can master control over your magic you can become a phantom allowing you to interact with the physical world more directly periodically. Then we have to find out where your body was laid to rest.”_

“Hold up, we have to find my body!?” I was a bit uncomfortable scratch that unnerved at the prospect of going back to my grave. Wherever it is.

“Yes”-She says it like it was no big deal. _“You cannot fully revive without your own body, do not fret about the idea of being reanimated in a decomposed state, the magic within your body will restore it good as new but only if you can master control of it with him.”_

I let out an exasperated sigh looking down at Asriel’s sleeping form.

“What about him?”

_“A monster is made of magic, so the body can be reformed as well. It’s just the soul that is usually the problem but it seems we have lucked out since he retained his soul, all that is required is consent to come back. The process cannot be forced.”_

Sinking down to a sitting position I held my head with one hand with the other in on my lap. I was astonished.

“Wow...just wow.”

_“I know but it’s like I said it won’t be easy and there is risk involved but remember what I said the very moment you took my power a burden will fall upon your shoulders.”_

I sobered at that.

“Yeah I remember...thanks Drakaina.”

_“It is no problem and remember you are not alone.”_

I nodded, there were a lot of thoughts that I had to think over until Asriel woke up from his wounds. One of them explaining how we got here in the first place.


	6. Class Time With Drakaina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you don't have anything to really pass the time, might as well learn somethings.

It’s been a week since the Drakaina layed out the plan and Asriel still hasn’t woken up. She assured me that he was fine and that it would only be a bit longer till his wounds are naturally healed thanks to his ambient healing magic which I didn’t know he could do that either. Still though one can’t help but worry. While waiting I decided to investigate around the Mountain for a bit knowing that Asriel would be fine without vision. Nothing up here can really touch us as spirits anyway except maybe other spirits but I saw nothing around. Exiting my cave haven I notice that the moon was full tonight making it easier to see where I was going. Also from the position of it I would say it was nearly midnight so I had plenty of time to look around before morning.

Before I left though I had to make sure of something first. “Drakaina you awake?”

 _“Yes Sam what is it that you need?”_ She asked.

I clasp my hands together “You are familiar with this place right?”

“Correct.”

“I need to know if there are any signs of towns or cities nearby.”

She pondered for a moment _“If my memory is correct I believe there is a city just South of here. Fly up and you should see it just fine.”_

I pause at that “Wait, I can still fly here?”

 _“Void or no void you’re still a spirit Sam.”_ She said with a little giggle.

I will myself in the direction I wanted to go just like I did in the void and floated upwards into the night sky.

“Oh…”

A few more chuckles were let out from her.

“Oh just hush.” I muttered in embarrassment.

I continue floating up 10 feet, 20 feet ,30...40...50….and 60.  
Looking out South from my vantage point I saw bright lights from what I can assume was the city she was talking about.

“People...actual people live there.” I whisper breathlessly. But I couldn’t leave at least not till he recovers. I needed to be there to explain everything when he woke up so I landed again but not without keeping a mental map of where it was. It shouldn’t be too much longer.

Another two days had passed and I was beginning to get fidgety. Drakaina took notice of my boredom and would try to keep me entertained by telling me about the different fundamentals of soul characteristics. Not gonna lie I was actually pretty absorbed in her teaching. I learned that each soul has a color to match a certain characteristic and they come with their own unique magic abilities.

For example: A red soul is a representation of determination and is the most powerful of all souls but it is also the most dangerous. Determination is a desire to overcome anything even if there is no benefit to persevering what so ever. They can have a desire to save or destroy anything they stick their mind to so I would classify it as a more neutral soul trait to have. They have the power to become physically and mentally more stronger the more determined they are. Drakaina even told me that the most determined souls in the world could even resist death if they have the desire to do so. Scary stuff if you ask me.

Next comes the orange soul which is a representation of bravery. They claim second place in terms of power. However it’s mostly their speed you should watch out for. An orange is constantly on the move especially in combat and hardly flinches at anything. As most veterans in the armies would say, “Fear is the mind killer.” but when conquered nothing can hold you back.

Our next soul is the yellow soul. A representation of justice incarnate. Most yellow souls were actually sharpshooters back when magic was not a thing of myth on Earth. Now I don’t mean sharpshooters as in they had big ass sniper rifles but rather their souls could shoot out projectiles that can be just as dangerous as a modern day handgun if trained correctly. All though she did say that some Justice souls could enhance projectiles in long range weapons so I guess having a magic sniper rifle is not out of the question. In terms of how they act, these people are either there to actually stop the bad guys in a reasonable fashion or cause chaos in their path of revenge against someone they believe deserves retribution. So yeah don’t get on their bad side they might get you back later.

Green souls are the representation of kindness and are the most protective in nature. They specialize in protective barriers and healing magic. It actually would fit Asriel pretty well had he not had a white soul but I’ll get back to that in a moment. Most people who have a green soul mean no harm and are generally friendly, key word “MOST”. Not all green souls are innocent by any measures. I heard a song once in a dream from my past life and a few lyrics stuck with me that remind me of these green souls. I think the part goes, “You gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure.” After all to some killing is a kindness. Thankfully demented green souls like that are usually few.

Light Blue souls represent patience and their nature is also self explanatory. They are usually pretty mellowed out but can be scary in combat. Their nature is to be analytical, usually waiting for openings and when the opportunity presents itself then they begin dishing punishment. Drakaina actually told me that some of them can even have minor control of space time if they have enough magic. Basically things like teleportation or slowing time for only a moment but it’s really draining on the few who can manage it.

The Blue soul, yes BLUE not light blue represents integrity. They actually are better at judging good and bad people then justice souls. Their qualities are being honest and having strong moral principles after all. If you want a full body workout they have you covered with their magic being tailored to gravity manipulation. So running from someone who has mastered blue magic is probably a pain in the ass.

Second to last is the purple soul which represents the will to preserve. One can argue that these guys are probably more durable then a red soul as the perseverance soul is about having extremely high resilience. Though that’s more towards when you have mastered the purple souls magic. The average purple soul can take a few impressive beatings but are nowhere near the juggernauts that their mage ancestors had. They are not invincible though.

Lastly comes the white soul. It’s kinda unique because humans cannot be born with white souls. Only monsters can really have one. They are weaker than human souls by a decent margin and instantly crumble up if the monster dies. However there are exceptions. Boss monster souls can last for a few moments when the host dies. What is a boss monster? Simply put they are just really strong monsters nothing more nothing less. Despite their souls being white they do have soul traits but they can only be sensed or guessed upon based on how the monster acts and what magic they can do. If I was to guess Asriel’s it would definitely be kindness. What I can’t wrap my head around is what trait fire and lightning magic is accustomed to. Maybe I’ll ask him a few days after he wakes up.

Night fell again. Taking a moment to stretch out a bit I went to look at the stars for entertainment. Everything was so clear and quiet here. Crickets chirped, the wind caused the trees leaves to bristle. This type of quiet was so much better than what the void offered because everything here felt more natural. That’s when I heard a groan echo through the cave. My head whipped back to Asriel noticing he was clutching his head. My heart started to race from excitement, he was finally waking up! Running over I knelt down next to him in case he needed some help.

He opened his eyes groggily scanning his surroundings. It was still dark though so he couldn’t see much. Then his eyes landed on me. He began rubbing his eyes to get the grogginess out of his system.

“Ugh….Sam? Why are you so...see through?” He tried to get up so I reach out a hand in an offer to help which he took. He starts stumbling around and leaned on me for support.

“I feel like crap.”

Grimacing at the fact that it was probably my fault that he was in such a state I began to apologize.

“Sorry...sorry it was my fault. IfonlyIwasn’tsuchadead weight...andactuallyknewhowtofightnoneofthiswouldn’thavehappened.”I started spitting out word vomit too fast for Asriel to comprehend what I was saying. “Sam.” But I was too focused on my apology to hear him.  
“Ohandyoutakingthearrowformeaswellohgod”

“Samuel!”

I stopped rambling as he never used the full first name I gave myself before.

“It’s ok.” He assures me.

I look him in the eye to see if he genuinely meant that. But he didn’t waver.

Feeling the guilt in my chest fade somewhat I let out a sigh.  
“You missed some pretty important stuff while you were sleeping.”

He tilts his head at me “Oh?”

I looked forward to the entrance. "It would be best if I just showed you. Can you make a small walk?”

He followed where my eyes were looking. To notice a small amount of moonlight poking through. I can feel his shoulders tense. “What is tha-” I pick him up and carry him piggyback styled which took him completely off guard.

“Whoa! Sam!?”

I started walking to the entrance.

“Sam what are you doing!?”

I remain silent not wanting to spoil the surprise.

“I am an adult you know, I can walk just fine!”

Aww, he sounds so embarrassed.

“Why are you smiling this...isn’t…..funny.”

His will to complain was utterly shut down at the sight of the moon and stars.

I look back to see his expression and was not disappointed.

The look of shock, wonder and disbelief were apparent on his face. Being carried around like a backpack was but all forgotten at the moment.

“This is…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

He actually looked like he was in Disney for the first time and he didn’t know what ride to get on first, it was rather adorable to look at. Resisting the urge to reach back and pet him I decided to drop the bombshell on him.

“Welcome back to Earth dude.”


	7. The Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo have questions that they want answered.

Asriel’s POV: I couldn’t believe it this must be some kind of sick dream to play on my hopes. In a few moments I’ll be right back in the abyss again as Gaster’s newest experiment.

I felt Sam shaking. Thinking that something was wrong I lean out to the side so I can see his face only to see him... laughing?

“Hey what’s so funny?”

He turns his head up to the stars.

“S-sorry” He said laughingly “It's just...you look so adorable right now.”

My face began to heat up. “I-I’m not cute!”

He began laughing again, which made me huff in irritation.

“You’re so lucky that I hardly have enough magic to conjure a fireball or I would have scorched you by now.”

With a shake of his head he responded

“No...I don’t think you would have. Besides…” He looks back at me and I was met with nearly empty black eyes. “...I think we both want some questions answered.” The drastic appearance change of his eyes made me jump a little. They looked almost like Chara’s when she tried to take control of me. An involuntary shudder went down my back.

*Pinch*

“Ow! What was that for?” I asked agitated again, rubbing my ear.

The eyes shift away to stare off back into the sky. “You were gawking.”

He sets me down on the ground. My legs were a bit shaky but I could stand for just a bit. "Sorry it’s just, What happened to your eyes? Humans don't usually have this happen to them...right?”

At this question his shoulders tensed up and he laughs nervously. “Hah...hah….it’s going to sound a bit insane.”

I cross my arms at him. “Sam I was supposed to be either dead again or captured by now, but instead I wake up to be out of the void after what I would guess is nearly a century looking out towards the stars. I’m willing to believe nearly anything right now.”  
He breathed in deeply before exhaling in a sigh. I felt myself being set down which I was thankful for but my legs were still too shaky and weak for me to stand on my own and flying just seemed to tire me more just thinking about it so I sat down with my legs crossed. Sam sat down as well.

He clasped his hands together “So I know you want to know some things but… I have some questions that need to be answered as well. So here’s the deal Prince.”

I flinch at his callout. Here was hoping that he would dismiss or outright forget.  
“I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine. However if either of us don’t want to answer a question then they can pass it in return for a favor.”

“You know I don’t have an obligation to do that right?” I responded

“Well neither do I but it’s only fair that I return what you gave.” He retorts back.

Hmph touché.

“Alright fair enough. I accept.”

He nods satisfied with the answer before curling his hands into a fist and holding it out.  
“Rock, Paper , Scissors to see who goes first?”

“You’re on. Oh and no gun.” He smiles when I said that.  
Nice try but I already learned that lesson from Chara after being challenged for a piece of butterscotch pie. I can still remember her cocky expression too.

“Ready?”

“Rock.”

“Paper. “

“Scissors.”

“Shoot!”

“Damn.”

“Looks like I won this time.” He chose paper and I had scissors.  
“You get first dibs, don’t waste it.” He warns half jokingly.

I thought carefully about my first question, Sam thankfully waited patiently so I was able to think more carefully.

“Well let's start with the biggest one first. What happened while I was asleep?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, My main inspiration for this fic was because I was getting pissed off at this sites lack of variety. I would only see Sans fics everywhere but what about Asriel? So I searched for a while until I found a fic by the name of "A Life Less Ordinary" by Rogue 66. It was an enjoyable read and it set an example as to what a real bond in a story is suppose to look like, at least to me. Don't get me wrong though I like Sans and he does have some important rolls in the story but I feel like every trope just revolves only around him, when in actuality nearly all major events in Undertale are caused by the royal family. (Yes that includes Undyne she's like a daughter to Asgore) Anyway sorry for the rant I hope you like this chapter even if it's a bit shorter.


	8. Reveal Thy Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel had his fun with questioning Sam in the void so now it's only fair enough that he returns the favor.

Asriel’s POV:

I’ll admit it, what Sam told me would have been called far fetched but it correlates somewhat as to how we got here and why I can sense an ambient magic in him now. An outside source of help was given to us and Sam knew about it the whole time. He said they called themselves Drakaina. It was an unusual name even among monster kind and to be honest I don’t like to put my trust in a face I couldn’t see, especially a powerful one. Just who were they?

I was interrupted from my thoughts by Sam clearing his throat to get my attention.

He leans forward a bit, “I think it’s my turn for our game of twenty questions dude.”

It was said so casually, but I knew what he wanted to ask.

“I know that we don’t exactly know each other too well but....”

He pauses as if thinking as to what to say next making me a bit nervous.

“It called you prince.”

There it was…

“At first I thought he was calling you that out of sheer sarcasm, I mean this guy did seem to know you. Then I remembered Drakaina telling me that you were someone important.”

A knot formed in my stomach. Should I tell him that I was royalty? Will it change the way he thinks of me? Will he just go to groveling and being nice because of my title?

“Your face tells me you know what I’m talking about.” Sam’s eyes steeled themselves, all manner of light heartedness gone from them.

“Tell me. Who am I trusting my soul too when I turn my back?”

I averted my eyes. The darkness in them made it feel like I was staring back into the abyss. Should I tell him and get through with it? Or just pass it for a favor?

…..

No, he has to know I want to see if he’s worth being a companion to. If he does end up like the rest then he’s just a waste of my time.

My resolve hardens and I looked back at him dead in the eyes. “Where I came from I was known as a prince to all monsters before I died.”  
His eyes widened in surprise for a moment. This is when I was expecting the endless amounts of apologies to ring out just like the rest. I close my eyes in anticipation of disappointment.

“That’s it?”

For a moment I didn’t react, then what was said quickly caught up confusing me greatly.

“H-Huh!?”

His cold look melts instead, being replaced with one of amusement.

“Dude I know what you’re thinking-”

He puts his hand to his chest in a ridiculously dramatic fashion “But I just told you my big secret shouldn’t you be groveling at my feet for favors?”

Shaking his head he let out a small chuckle but it sounded a bit forced.

“Sometimes we forget. In death we’re all equal. Even if you got a big fancy funeral in the eyes of the world you're still gone, like me.”

The smile he wore on his face dims, “In the after life we’re basically a couple nobodies against the spirit world. Which is why to me you’re not some prince but a new friend.”

He continues on “I mean even if you had a million things what are we gonna do with it, stare at them? We’re spirits, my guy.”

I put my hand up in a gesture to tell him to stop talking for a moment which he complies to with no complaint thankfully. It kinda reminds me of...Chara before she went all bad. I decided that I think we should stop this “game” early. Sam was merciful enough to let it go but after a couple of favors.

“I know that you just woke up and all but I want you to come with me in a few days to check out that city I found.”

“Wait why?”

He shrugs his shoulders “It’s more fun to explore when you got someone to do it with I guess.”

The sheer thought of hanging around a whole city of humans made me uncomfortable, even if they couldn’t see us I just feel like I would be so out of place but...I can’t help but feel a tad bit curious as well to how humans have changed after a hundred or so years.

“Alright.”  
He clapped his hands together. “Awesome.”

“Oh and one last thing, you can say no to this if you want but this would really be helpful to me.”

I raise my eyebrow “What is it?”

He inhales deeply before answering “Can you teach me how to use my magic please?”

“Sure.”

His jaw dropped. “Wait that’s it!? No test or payback favors?”

“Just give me a few more days for my magic to recharge and we’ll be set.”

I was picked off the ground again and squeezed in a bearhug.

“You are a goddamn life saver...er...afterlife saver...wait that doesn’t sound quite right either.”

“You’re crushing me.” I wheezed out

He quickly let me go and I wobbly kept on my feet.

Looking a bit sheepish he apologized before escorting me back to the “Man Cave” as he called it.

Jeez his strength doesn’t match his body at all. I can see now as to why he would want to learn to control his magic. He could hurt one of us if we don’t get it under control. I just hope I’ll be as good of a teacher as my parents were.

“Huh? What do you mean my boost is gonna run out?”

I look over bewildered as to why Sam was talking to himself when I remembered about Drakaina. He must be talking with her. Also what does he mean by “run out of boosts.”

“Five seconds!? You’re telling me I was still juiced up from that fight and was able to stay awake this long because of that energy..boost.” He starts wobbling dangerously.

“Samuel?” I was beginning to get concerned.

“Oh...oh shit. Asriel I am going to sleep now... I’ll see you... tomorrow.”

He then collapsed onto the floor.

“Samuel!?” I rushed over to check on him terrified that he suffered some kind of injury on his soul that I did not notice. After a quick inspection I quickly calmed down realizing that he was only experiencing a mana burnout. Double checking to ensure that I was correct I turned him over so he wasn’t lying on his face. We don’t necessarily need to breathe or bother with posture but I just felt the need to at least show some courtesy.

Feeling satisfied with my job I sat back down and began to think about what tomorrow could hold.


	9. Tourist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's when you notice the small details that you realize the big things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW BOYS WE GOT A BIG ONE LOOK AT THE LENGTH OF THIS CHAPTER! -Some Fanfic Fanatic

Samuel’s POV:

“ _Samuel...Samuel...it’s time to get up_.”

I shifted trying to wake up recognizing Drakaina’s call.

“ _I know you’re not a morning person but you have been sleeping in for two days_.”

My eyes shot open at that statement only to be blinded by the rays of sunlight beaming from the cave entrance.

“AUGH Goddammit every time!” I yelled, rubbing my eyes to stop the pain.

A giggle emanates from her. “ _At least you’re awake now_.”

Shaking what little grogginess I had off. I stood up and survey around to get a bearings of everything. Nothing much has changed. Same cave but different time. Hmmm the goat is gone.

“ _Your friend had taken it upon themselves to look around while you were out. He knows that we are near his home now and has been slightly distressed_.”

I remembered him mentioning something about Mount Ebott.

“Right this is the place where his kind is sealed off.” I start walking towards the entrance assuming that he was just wandering out of the mancave to explore around like I did.

“Should I be concerned?”

“ _No although I don’t think you should bring it up_.”

I nodded to acknowledge that I heard her before I saw him looking at some of the plant life with great interest.

“Hey.”

He jumps slightly at my voice before turning with a look of surprise.

“O-oh you’re awake. How do you feel?”

“Fine. Uh I’m not bothering you am I?”

He looked appalled at what I said.

“No not at all. I’ve just been observing the wildlife here.”

He looks back out towards the various tree’s, flowers and bushes.

“I just haven’t seen so much color in a long time.”

A small smile formed on his face.

“After seeing nothing but black in the void I just can’t help but take it all in.”

With you there buddy. It’s the small things you take for granted that you miss the most.

Wait wasn’t I supposed to do something? What was it again?

 _“Don’t forget that you were supposed to go to the city.”_ Drakaina pipes in.

I clapped my hands together feeling a surge of excitement.

“Right I almost forgot!” Thanks by the way.

“ _Anytime_.”

Confusion fills Asriel's face.

“Forgot about what?”

I point over to the general area I saw the city last time.

“We are going that way to see what that little city I saw has in store for us.”

“Already!?” He questions flabbergasted. “I mean you literally just got up!”

“I’m fine, Besides I want to get going. We’ve been at this cave for at least a few weeks. Even I have only so much patience for this stale and repetitive crap of passing out for a few days and staring out into plants...no offense.”

He tilts his head indicating that he was thinking again. I wonder if he does that intentionally or a force of habit.

“Well...I guess I did promise to go and we don’t have anything better to do until my power is returned….alright fine.”

Looks like its settled then.  
I liftoff the ground. I looked besides me to see Asriel doing the same.

“Here we go.”

Gaster’s POV:

This is rather unusual. It seems that my new favorite test subject has disappeared in a sense. While he has escaped through a portal with the prince I was able to trace it’s exit only to find nothing there. It was only a mere minute and with the injuries that they sustained they could not have gone far. I attempted to search for the anomaly’s signature magic but could not find it. This should be impossible, nothing can evade my sight. I am everywhere yet he eludes me. The only thing that can block my vision is….other beings from the void.

I felt a smile crack upon my face in anticipation.

Yes there is a possibility that something here has assisted them. The boy cannot block the void's sight alone; he is only a mere ametuer at controlling his magic at best and the prince has no knowledge of void magic. No matter it will only be a matter of time before this being slips. Though I cannot help but feel excitement at the thought of pushing this anomaly to his limits again to see what he can do. That form he used was unstable and incomplete but within those short moments I know that he has massive potential. I must make preparations for the next test of power.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Samuel’s POV:

“So...do you know where we’re going?” I heard my companion ask from behind me.

“Hah! No, but that’s where half the fun comes from.” I answer with a grin.

I can feel the eyes rolling from him.

After a bit of wandering I heard the sound of growing chatter and cars.

 _“You know there is a plaza nearby just ahead. Asriel might be interested in looking at some stuff_.”

That might be a good idea actually. I looked over my shoulder to see his eyes wandering at the cars and people in silent awe.

“Hey.”

His attention snapped back at me.

“There’s a shopping plaza nearby wanna check it out?”

A quick nod of his head confirmed that he was interested. All though I could make things a bit interesting.

“Drakaina, how much farther is it?” I was sure to ask her this in my head to surprise him.

_“1,010 meters why?”_

You’ll see.

“The plaza is about 1,010 meters that way.”

He looks at me strangely.

“That’s a very specific distance you gave me…why are you telling me this?”

My grin shifted into something more mischievous.

“Just telling you the distance of the finish line as I leave your slow ass in the dust.”

“….Excuse me?”

“See ya at the end slowpoke!” I started sprinting off to the destination only hearing two things from Asriel.

“What? WHAT!?”

Cackling madly as I scrambled forward I turned back to see Asriel’s semi angry looking face peering back at me, desperately trying to keep up in his small form.

Seeing as we can just go through objects and people we paid no mind to the traffic or the occasional person.

Random Pedestrian’s POV:

Goddammit why does it have to be so hot today. I swiped some sweat off from brow and tried walking in the shaded area of the sidewalk, not that it helped much. Mugginess just has to make things even more miserable.

“Ugh I’m gonna feel so gross when I get home.”

God if you are real just give me a breeze or something. Please even just a second will do.

I then felt something unnaturally chilly pass through my body which made me jump with a yelp. Not more than three seconds later another chill passed through but I only felt it on my legs. Taking a moment to recompose myself I looked around to see if there was some kind of weirdly placed air conditioner or if someone was messing with me but there was nothing there.

“....The fuck was that?”

Sam’s POV:

“Ha, looks like a win." I teased

Asriel scoffs “I want a rematch when I can get back into my normal form you cheater.”

“Now why would I want to race someone who has an entire foot over me.”

He rubs his face in frustration, “Of all humans why did I have to get the one that acts like a smart ass.”

“...You know you love it.”

A grin splits across his muzzle “I’ll be sure to show you how much I love it on your training days.”

“Kinky.”

My hand slaps over my mouth. I didn’t even think about that one, it just kind of flew out my mouth.

“You're weird you know that?”

I begin surveying around the plaza to distract myself from my own embarrassment. Damn my social awkwardness. I keep forgetting to filter the things I say cause there are boundaries that people have or in this case monsters.

God he’s totally gonna kick my shit in tomorrow isn’t he?

“Ok let's see here. Macy’s, Lowells, Target, Gamestop, Some kind of burger joint, Toys R US, Best Buy-wait….Toys R Us?”

He was quick to pick up my confusion on the last store I called out. "Something wrong?”

Well I mean, I could have sworn that store was no longer around but my memory is a bit faulty at times.

“No nothing is wrong, these places just jog my memory a little.”

Asriel perks up “Did you remember something of your past?”

Shaking my head I beckon him towards BestBuy to check out some of the tech that they made since I was gone.

We phased through the doors and I instantly went to look for the consoles wanting to know if the PS5 was made yet. Oh actually before I do that.

“Hey dude, feel free to look anywhere you want. I’ll be over there.” I pointed at the aisle with all the games in it.

“Ok...I guess I’ll just go over...there.” He points at the aisles where all the cams and TV’s are at.

Then we split off to our respective areas.

Alright let's see what we got here. XBOX 360 games, PS3 games, Wii U? Huh they still sell plenty of stuff for the old consoles. Eh whatever I can relive nostalgia for a bit.

I shift through the old games I used to play back when I was a little kid. Super Mario, Modern Warfare 2, Halo. Man I miss these times. I continue looking for a bit until I notice something weird.

Black Ops 2 (NEW)

BorderLands 2 (NEW)

Dishonored (NEW)

Where are the XBOX 1 or PS4 stuff?

I begin skimming through aisles until I find the XBOX 360 and PS3.

Looking at the price tags I saw...499!? They still sell them at that price?

My face falls into a frown.

“Something isn’t right.”  
Lifting off the ground I quickly located Asriel levitating in a sitting position engrossed at one of the TV’s.  
The characters on the screen looked familiar.

Wait, that's Rise Of The Guardians.

I quickly flew over to join him.

“Wow lucky day to get this one played it’s a classic.”

He stays quiet for a moment letting it play for a little longer before replying.

“Humans have really developed in tech since I left. Last time I saw a TV it worked with only VHS tapes and didn’t even have color.”

Another line of silence before one of the characters pops up.

He points them out eagerly. “Jack Frost, he’s my favorite in this story. He kinda reminds me of us you know?”

“How so?”

“Well he’s a ghost just like us, no one can see him except for other spirits and he wants to be real again.”

I nod agreeing with him. However as much as I want to stay here and just watch movies there was something that needed to be done.

“You’re looking tense again.”

Damn he’s getting good at reading me. Go figure though when I’m the only friendly person he can interact with at least so far.

“Sorry it’s just, something isn’t right. You can stay here if you want. I just gotta check the other stores' gaming sections. ”

He sits up “No if something is bothering you I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yea I’m fine with it.”

The next half hour was spent with me looking at the gaming stuff across Gamestop and Target but I came across the same thing XBOX 360’s and PS3’s with old ass games that were labeled as new.

Asriel had split off again in Target wandering as I searched.

 _“Samuel?”_ Drakaina called.

“What is it?”

_“I’m beginning to sense stress from you. I thought this was supposed to help you relax?”_

Huffing I glanced back at the old consoles and games before walking off to find Asriel again.

“Sorry Drakaina, just something feels off you know.”

A small gasp imitated from her causing me to tense up.

_“Did I forget to tell you the method as to how I managed to keep Gaster from finding you?”_

“You only explained that you could take us to a place he wouldn’t find us in.”

….

“Drakaina what did you- IS THAT FUCKING OBAMA!?”

I had wandered to Target’s TV’s thinking Asriel would be there.

One of them had the news channel turned on with Obama giving a speech.

Ok breathe in, breathe out.

“Drakaina what year is it?”

Asriel’s POV:

I had been looking at “Lightsabers” for at least 10 minutes and I can’t lie, the concepts for human weapons are both scary and cool.

“IS THAT FUCKING OBAMA!?”

Was that Sam? Oh jeez what is he on about now? Who’s Obama? I rushed over to the electronics where I knew I would find him.  
Only to find him looking at me in a haunted way. Like as though he just witnessed something horrible take place.

“Samuel? Are you ok?”

He shakes his head.

“I just found out why everything here seemed out of date to me.”

“Ok so that doesn’t-”

He raises his hand out to hush me “Let me finish.”

He gestures to the TV and I look to see a particular looking human in a suit giving a speech.

“That is Barack Obama our 44th President.”

Oh so he’s the leader of this land I guess but… “What had you freaked out about him?”

“You guys have a monarchy right? With no terms?” He questions

“Yea unless they are seen as unfit to rule they rule till they die or someone is deemed worthy to step up to the crown.” I answer

“We have something called democracy here, where power is shared between branches and the common people.”

He takes a breath trying to calm himself down and I gave him an encouraging look to take his time.

“We the people came into an agreement that our president cannot serve more than 8 years so I was confused as to why he was here.” Sam explained.

“This is live on an official news channel as well so this could not be faked but I had to be sure. So I asked Drakaina.”

“What are you insinuating Samuel?” I had a hunch as to what he could be talking about but I want to hear him say it before I jump to conclusions.

“Time Travel.”

I knew it! But the question now is what year is it?

“I can't exactly remember when he started but it was around 2010 I think so his terms already passed. I was there when it did. The year now is 2012.” Answering the long awaited question.

A small tremor of shock went through me.

“It was 2020 when I died so we went eight years in the past.”

He let out a shaky breath. “Asriel I know that this was supposed to be a fun time but I need to think.”

“It’s fine, let's go back to the hideout.” We both left the store before taking off without a word spoken. I needed time to think about this info as well. Time travel not even the most powerful red souls throughout history couldn’t rewind time that precisely and far. This is a dangerous power being manipulated. Even more so than when Chara and I were fused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have another chapter pre written as well but I'll be holding onto it for now in return for the damage caused to my fingers and wrist.


	10. Let's Get Down To Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to 1v1 a goat who has several years of experience in sword combat goes as well as one would think it would.

Sam’s POV:

A new day means new things to reflect on especially after yesterday’s fiasco. First some mad scientist wants my soul, then said scientist sends an armored juggernaut that beats us to a pulp, afterwards I get infused with some weird magic and sent to the living world, where I had to watch Asriel’s unconscious body for weeks. Now time travel!? God I am terrified of what Drakaina could do to someone if she got angry.

I open my eyes to see the familiar greenery of Mount Ebott. Asriel had gone off to look for a suitable area to train me in. He didn’t want to cause damage to the plant life or cause any fires in the case of an “accidental magic discharge”. That reminds me, besides the first reveal of the surface, he’s taking all of this rather well.

A frown reaches my face. How does he do it? How does he remain so calm about everything going on. I mean sure he does get surprised for a moment but he recovers quickly as though he was walking down a beach expecting clear skies and then it rains out of nowhere. Well I guess comparing time travel and fights to an unexpected rainy day isn’t the best analogy but one should get the point I’m making here. He views these entire train of events as a minor annoyance at best.

A voice calls out, snapping me out of my musing “Samuel come up here!”

Ah he must have found a good spot. I hurry along to where I heard him not wanting to keep him waiting. Gotta show that I care for his teachings by not taking my sweet time. On my way over I thought back to an explanation as to why Drakaina didn’t drop us back into our proper timeline when we were heading back to our secluded cave in Ebott. Apparently Gaster was able to find where we were but not when we were. Wait, that sounds confusing let me simplify it. When we dropped into the mountain it was 2012, when he peeked to the spot we were in he was looking into 2020. So he couldn’t find us because he was looking in the wrong time period. Does that make sense? Probably not but I can’t really explain any other way. I’m smart, just not THAT smart. It was a reminder that not only is Drakaina powerful but her intelligents is astounding as well. Anyway this was a great plan but it’ll only throw him off until my magic hits a certain point in my training. Then Gaster will just be able to find us again. After all a human mage would stick out as much as a high beam light in a dark room.

My eyes focus onto the tall form of Asriel waiting with his arms crossed. He looks deep in thought but perks up when he see's me.

“Ah there you are. So we can begin.”

Whoa hearing him talk in his adult form just throws me off especially when I’m so used to hearing his more adorably squeaky voice. I mean it’s still pretty high sounding but in the perfect octave that makes it sound like he’s a super model trying to seduce someone. Puberty was merciful to this man because he was voice actor worthy. Damn it why can’t I get a silky voice like that. I would have so much fun reading fanfiction on YouTube for views.

Once again I was brought out of my thoughts after hearing the snapping of fingers and seeing him leaning forward at me to gain my attention. He was already channeling the teacher's energy.

“Pay attention Sam.” He gently reprimands.

“S-sorry.” I apologized embarrassed.

You can’t blame me for getting distracted. I only saw this form once and it was when I was more concerned for my well being then his appearance to observe too closely.

He leans back to his full height satisfied with my apology and walked back before holding his arm out to gesture at our surroundings.

“This is our training grounds for now. Familiarize yourself with it because we’ll be here a lot.”

Scanning across our training area I had realized we were almost at the mountain peek. Everything seemed to be more rocky probably to prevent any fires that trees and grass would plus since we’re ghosts falling on the rocky floor doesn’t seem to be a problem.

“Have you familiarized yourself? He asked.

I nod. I can definitely see why he picked this spot.

“Good.” He walks over when a white light forms on his hands and two familiar looking blades spawn in.

“I’m going to guess that your unseen friend has told you about souls right?”

I nod again to confirm that I already knew about soul magic, he holds out one of the swords.

“Excellent then I need you to take my saber.”

I was taken aback not expecting to hold a weapon this soon in his training.

He notices my hesitation. “Take it I will explain what we are doing when you do.”

Grabbing the saber I hold it up, it was surprisingly light on my hand. I admired its bizarre craftsmanship for a moment before turning my attention to Asriel waiting for his instructions.

“Alright before I officially begin teaching you there are two things I must know.”

He raises one finger up. “The first is where I need to put my priorities when teaching you how to fight.” He raises another finger, “The second is figuring out what color your soul actually is so I can teach around your attribute.”

My concern began to rise when he slants his blade down into a relaxed position and it glows again.

The blade grows almost hitting the ground but he keeps it held in the same slanted position.

“Uhh should I be concerned?” I ask, wary of the newly formed longsword.

An amused smirk reaches his muzzle. “Don’t worry I will be only blocking and parrying your attacks. The blades were also dulled so attack me anyway you see fit and don’t hold back.”

I grunt in acknowledgement holding the saber out so that it was pointing outwards at Asriel and it was blocking my mid section. He hums in approval before beckoning me to him.

Cautiously I approach with my guard up. I may not be a swordsman but only an idiot would recklessly swing at someone who is. His stance looks off as well like he was trying to bait me in to do something.

“Any day now.” He taunts.

I huff before taking an experimental poke only to have my sword thrown out my hands nearly instantly in two very fast motions. I look out in shock as the sword Asriel handed to me sails into a rock impaling itself into it.

“What the hell just happened?”

He makes me retrieve the sword which thankfully wasn’t completely wedged in and tells me to try again before taking that same stance from earlier.

This time I swing hard in a horizontal slicing motion only to have myself stumbling from a parry, almost losing my grip on the saber. I was pushed back before I tried charging back in for rapid swings in all the directions in an effort to overwhelm him with quick strikes. The sound of metal against metal reach my ears each and every swipe I did showing how fruitless my efforts were as he effortlessly blocked. Before long I once again found my sword knocked out of my hands.  
It skids on the rocky ground and I found myself at the end of a saber. I put my hands up in mock surrender before he points his saber at the one across the ground.

“Try again. I’m beginning to get a picture here.”

I lost count at how many times I was disarmed nearly effortlessly. On one attempt I tried making him trip by swinging in a sweeping motion only for him to jump onto the blade making me stumble forward from the unexpected move. He then wedged it under his foot so that I couldn’t pull it out and pointed his saber at my face indicating my loss. On another I tried baiting him by doing half swings so that I would be able to open him up by making him block prematurely but he never bought it. He didn’t so much as flinch at my half swings and when I did commit he countered it almost immediately with a parry. Like, HOW DOES HE KNOW!? The worst one was when he decided to get disrespectful by countering a stab by catching my wrist with just his left hand.

I mustered up the most deadpan look I could and uttered one word to discourage what I knew he was about to do.

"Don't."

He then swung me around like an action figure with the happiest expression on his face.

I decided to call him out on that one saying that what he did was so unnecessary in which he responded with “No, but it was funny.” I couldn't even be mad at him cause I know I would have done the same thing for the sheer amusement. One day though he will pay.

“That’s enough.” He orders. “It’s almost dark.”

I look up now noticing that he was right. I had been so engrossed in my attempts to hit him that I lost track of the time.

He waves a hand making both the sabers disappear in the light that they came in.

“Ugh I probably am gonna be a lot of work for you aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes you will be.” He responds without a beat.

My eyebrow raises at his sassy remark.

“Ow, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

His cocky grin returns “Don’t worry with a teacher like me you’ll be able stand up to my bullying.”

“Right…”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “You weren’t all bad Samuel, actually you did have some impressive quirks that I took notice of.”

I look up quizzically at him “Really? But I was getting my ass whooped the entire time.”

“Sam I mean this with no sarcasm. You..are pretty fast especially for someone who has never trained before.”

He takes his hand off my shoulder then began walking to the hideout. I follow behind interested in what he had to say. “Not only that but you have good instincts. You kept the sword on your mid section, not dropping your guard once and I know you realized that I was trying to fool you with the stance I did. Although it didn’t help because you didn't know how to deal with it, it was good you recognized it.”

He smiles, seeming happy that I showed promise. “I just need to teach you some techniques and forms. Plus you’re lacking proper impact in your strikes but that can also be fixed.”

He gave me a thumbs up in approval

“You did well.”

It was a bit flustering to hear someone compliment me. I was not used to positive reinforcement like this. So I replied the only way I knew how.

“Thanks.”

Seeing the hideout I felt like he forgot to tell me something.

…!

“Hey, what was my soul trait?”

He raises his pointer finger up like he had a Eureka moment.

“Ah yea. It was the RED soul for your primary. Your secondary was LIGHT BLUE.”

There’s a secondary trait? Wait, I have a RED soul!?

“Drakaina?”

 _“I forget to tell you that_.” She responds flatly

“How many important things are you gonna forget!?”

“ _Hey no one is perfect_.” She defended

Rubbing my temples in frustration, I decided to go to sleep for the night not wanting to hear her weak excuses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always did like to imagine a headcanon where Asriel's Chaos Sabers can expand into a longsword for a secondary weapon.  
> Oh and fun fact the sword style Asriel is using is called "The Fool's Guard." It's primarily used to bait in targets into attacking them before they are quickly parried or countered. He probably will not use this against experienced opponents though.


	11. In The Eye Of All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you hold your secrets for the sake of others or yourself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In under a month since I started I had gained over 100 hits on just the beginning of this adventure between three friends. It's not a lot compared to a lot of other fics out there but everyone starts somewhere and for me to gain this in under a month was an accomplishment to be proud of. So I have decided to give you all a slight bit of lore on our omni present friend Drakaina and a glimpse at one of Sam's magic abilities. Plus it mentions another major future character that I would love to add at some point. Unfortunately SHE will have to sit out for a bit before I can add her officially to my story. Trust me guys I want to add more characters for Sam to interact with but you have to remember. Ghost don't have a place with the living.

Drakaina’s POV:

Distrust and paranoia is an emotion that has followed the prince ever since Samuel has told him of my involvement as evident from the fact that he was still awake, watching out for any signs of trouble. I can’t blame him though, he doesn’t know a thing about me except that I had an unnatural amount of magic to throw around. If only I could personally ease his mind and let him know that he was safe but with the face I have and the position I was in. 

Tugging my arms and legs the familiar jingle of the chains that had held me captive reaches my ears. They were handcrafted and enhanced by my old “partner” to keep me here till I was forgotten by all but them. But the chains have weakened as time passed, not enough for me to escape but enough for my powers to leak through.

I look down at Samuel and Asriel.

The cycle has already been broken now everything that happens now, depends on you two. 

I feel a dull ache in my chest when I look at them. 

“I’m sorry that I dropped this onto you two but you were the few that weren’t blinded by their vision.” You were a new piece to the set that they did not know existed, you are now my only hope for freedom.

…!

This power I sense...Sam’s void magic has activated...in his sleep?  
I shift my focus closer to Sam noticing the energy flowing into his dreams. I close my eyes focusing onto the strands of void magic before letting my consciousness flow into it. 

My eyes open up with a start seeing a new landscape around me. The first thing that caught my attention was the sound of wind and the sight of white everywhere. 

What was this? Snow?

“Hmm this looks good.” I hear Sam say behind me.

I turn to see him with a heavy jacket on with a blue scarf and winter hat on, looking not at me but at a colossal hole in the snow. It was like a meteor crashed here. Wait there’s someone with him. They were covered head to toe in heavy snow gear so I couldn’t make out who they were.

“Ha, of course it’s good I found it myself!” The stranger spoke.

They sound loud and familiar. Almost strangely tomboyish. A woman?

“I wouldn’t expect any less from you.” Sam complements.

The woman next to Sam playfully punches his shoulder. “Don’t think that buttering me up will get you out of a rematch for our last fight!”

His eyes crinkle in amusement. “Of course not and I’ll beat you again.”

The woman turns almost looking offended even through all the equipment, “What the hell did you say punk!? NGAHH! I’ll have you eat those words!” She shouts angrily. 

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” He shifts around as if contemplating what to do next.

“Seriously though thanks for the help. I know you don’t like the cold but you still came. So I owe you one Undyne.” 

Undyne!?

“Heh like I said it’s no problem!” She responds proudly. Her anger was quickly forgotten.

“Besides, trouble always seems to find you so someone would have to be there to get your sorry butt out of it!”

What was Undyne doing here? Wait is this foresight? It’s activated so soon?

“Do you know how long it’ll take before Asriel shows up with all the contacts to build the launch site?” He asks.

Undyne puts her hands on her hips “Uhhhh I think it’ll take at least a week before they all show up and begin building.”

“That’s much quicker than expected actually.” He says with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Undyne turns around her gaze staring out into the horizon. “Well your majesty is almost always good with words. Except when trying to pick up cute girls!” They both share a small laugh at Asriel’s expense.

“Now come on I wanna get out this goddamn cold.”

Everything fades to white indicating that Samuel was waking up.

A smile makes its way to my face. 

Knowing that Samuel will make more friends in the future fills me with the determination to help him more.

But for now it’s best that you forget about this. 

A sad sigh is let loose from me. As much as I want you to take comfort that the future seems bright for you. You are not ready for this power yet. Not until Asriel teaches you how to control yourself properly. I snap my fingers and the memory of the foresight is wiped from Samuel’s mind. It’s better this way unless he wants to be overwhelmed with the knowledge of the future and lose his sense of self like Gaster did. 

One day he will find out about this but I will hope he will be understanding and forgive me for tampering in his mind.

You may not be a pure soul Sam, you may make mistakes but I know that you will ultimately follow the better path. 

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but hopefully sweet for you guys. Honestly I wish I could time skip to this point in the story but... that would ruin the pacing and no-one wants that. Trust me it kills me to have to wait to get to the good stuff but we have to be PATIENT.


	12. Strength of Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> According to Undertale law, all main protagonist gain unnatural dodging capabilities.

Samuel’s POV:

Today is day two of training. While yesterday was focused on testing out my offense, today will be centered on probing my defense before Asriel actually teaches me some new moves. So yeah it’s gonna be brutal. While I trust that Asriel will pull his punches because he’s not the type of guy to go all out, it’s still a bit nerve wracking that I’ll be getting slapped around effortlessly even when he’s holding back.

Still though I can’t afford to back out of this. Drakaina already put so much effort into keeping us safe from Gaster’s eyes so that we would be ready for him and his dumbass knight next time we see them.

So here I am back in the training ground opposite of Asriel once again. It was raining out, not that it would bother us but I felt a bit calmer hearing the sounds of rain and wind. 

“Get ready to defend yourself Sam!” Asriel warns 

I instinctively raise up the saber Asriel gave to me. He raises his saber as well before he moves his left foot forward, then readjusts so that the blade end is facing away from me and keeps it close to his left side. His stance while completely different from yesterdays was open but just like yesterday there was a trick to it too I bet.

Silence fills the space between us only being broken by the intensifying rain and wind.

….

“Here I come!” He runs at me and I brace myself not to block but dodge mostly out of fear of getting hit at all by his strong swings. I sidestep an upward diagonal slice aimed at my torso and sidehop from the overhead strike that could have easily planted my ass onto the ground. I see him draw back his longsword preparing to stab at me but I manage to roll under his legs managing to get behind his back. Only to barely move out of the way from a back kick that was supposed to catch me off guard.

Asriel looks back seeming impressed and I couldn’t help but mirror his look. Those were some advance looking moves he was using but I still managed to get out of harm's way without getting touched. 

“You are surprisingly nimble, have you done this before?” He questions.

I shrug. “No? But I guess even I can sometimes amaze myself.”

Asriel recovers from his brief surprise and gets back into his fighting form ready for another go.

“Then I guess I can go a little faster.”

Ah shit maybe I should have let him hit me with that last kick.

I ready myself for his second assault.

True to his word he bursted forward even faster than before leaving me little time to react. 

Barely managing to move out of the way of a flying kick aimed at me I try moving back to get out of Asriel's range so that I could get some breathing space to readjust to his speed but it was all for naught as he was already on top of me instantly. Trying to get out of range of his longsword was proving to be difficult. His speed was not a helpful factor for me either. I feel the saber graze my hip making me hiss out in pain. It was like being smacked by the metal end of a belt. I..I can’t keep this up.

Another near graze to my leg made me stumble a bit giving him the opening he needed. My eyes widened as he took advantage of my brief loss of balance and swung down at me. I close my eyes bracing for impact.

…..But it never came?

“You ok?”

My eyes crack open to see a fluffy white claw being offered to me. I look at it for a moment before taking it. 

“Yea, I’m good.”

He pulls me up to my feet giving a quick glance at my hip and leg to be sure I wasn’t acting.

“You know as good as your agility is, I gave you a weapon for a reason.” 

“You mean the one I don’t really know how to use?” 

He snorts. “Alright fair enough but it would have helped to actually block somethings instead of just dodging, not that what you did wasn’t impressive or anything. 

Asriel preps his saber “Wanna try again?” 

A strange feeling worms its way to my chest and stomach. My hands begin trembling slightly at his offer... Is this fear? No it can’t be it’s something else, it’s...excitement.

With a grin I raise my saber challengingly, “Are you kidding I could do this all day Asriel.”

Even through all the rain and wind I felt genuinely happy. This felt almost therapeutic in a weird way. Sparring with a friend made me feel as close to being alive as this dead soul could be and it let me blow off all the steam that had been building up within me.

A weird expression flashes quickly on his face just as lightning cracks across the sky, before I could fully make it out,he was already back to his cocky grin. It was weird though it almost looked like he was just as excited as I was.

“Alright let's see if you can keep that attitude after this!” And with another swift flash of lightning he jumps up high, leg outstretched for a flying kick. 

Asriel’s POV:

Sam’s tryouts are finished. While he didn’t last the whole day like he said, we both knew he was merely bluffing. But the sheer enthusiasm when he said it was enough to make me believe him for just a moment. However in reality he lasted about five minutes before he could not continue any longer. It was admirable though despite being completely outclassed he would just keep coming back undeterred ready for another until his energy was spent. Red souls really were a force to not be reckoned with when they put their minds on something.

Looking at his sleeping form on my left shoulder I saw potential of not just great power but a longtime friend. He was the best thing to happen to me in a long time. 

Just then I felt a ping of fear wrap its finger around me. 

I was getting attached to someone again, so quickly too. Us monsters always did get attached to others too quickly for our own good. For a moment I wondered how different my life would have been if he fell instead of Chara. I shake my head, “NO he’s not a replacement for Chara!”  
Despite her flaws and the events that transpired I still couldn’t find myself to hate her. She was my sister and I loved her. Even when she hated me I still loved her. If only she had let go of her hate. I picture everyone sitting home happily. Mom would bake pies, Dad would be telling goofy stories of his younger years, Chara would be trying to prank everyone and Sam would probably be enhancing dad’s stories with witty banter and jokes of his own. Sam...would we have never met had it not been for Chara?

A tear went down my face before it was quickly wiped away. No use being a crybaby for what could have been. I set him down carefully. I want to just drop him and leave him behind so that I wouldn’t have to go through all these emotions again but I can’t. I can’t after all he’s done for me. No, no...he only wants to get strong then he won’t need me anymore and will abandon me here.

…  
……

I feel my tears coming back full force now.

Even I can’t fool myself with that one, it's just not in his nature.

“I..I’m already attached. I.. oh...no…”

Through the little time I had known you Sam I have already become bound to you just like I had to Chara. Have all those years of isolation really made me so desperate? If she’s out there and she finds him, what would I do? Help my own sister to get back into her good graces again and hope we can get back to being a family or help Samuel who has potentially just given me the second chance at life that was stolen from me all those years ago and start fresh? Why do all good things that come to me be filled with such difficult decisions?

I feel my form shrink down having lost focus from my internal warfare. My eyes begin to droop from exhaustion. I didn’t want to sleep but I was so drained from not sleeping last night and holding my powered up form the entire time as well. This ultimatum was only the finisher for my reserves of energy. I feel a comforting hand take hold of mine. It felt... nice as if it was telling me that everything was gonna be ok in the end. Before I knew it I had already fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact the sword form Asriel uses this time is called "Waki-Gamae." It's a more Samurai like sword form meant to throw off the timing of an opponent and take control of the battle in exchange for a open guard. Also I am quite exhausted as I literally just finished the next chapter and it was seven pages...SEVEN! I'll be holding onto it for now :3


	13. Intro To Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adults are just kids in big bodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say seven I meant ten pages.

Samuel’s POV:  
Mornings are my least favorite part of the day. Why? Well I just can’t stand getting up early. Nothing short of someone making an attempt to steal my soul would get me up... until now.

“ _Hahaha! Oh my god! That’s so adorable!_ ” Drakaina exclaims in amusement.

“Not a word from you.” I say with gritted teeth to get her to stop talking. She of course didn’t care.

“ _Oh man now I wish I could record this on a camera to embarrass you two for years to come_.”

My face flushes in embarrassment and I slowly begin to move Asriel’s limbs off of me.

“ _No wait, stay like that! You two kinda look like siblings. Augh my heart!_ ”

Ok this has been an exciting morning. Exciting as in I found Asriel sprawled out on top of me completely passed out. He was also clinging to me like a child to their stuffed bear. So yeah I’ll have to keep a mental note that Asriel is very clingy in his sleep. I learn something new about him everyday.

It took several minutes to successfully get this ball of fluff off of me. Drakaina was of no help making all sorts of remarks about being “cute” and squealing as if she saw an adorable puppy.

“I hope you’re happy.” I grumble

“ _Oh trust me this just made my day_.”

A sigh leaves me. “Good grief, don’t you have anything better to do?”

“ _Unfortunately for you, no I don’t_.” She replies with humor still bleeding in her voice.

….

“ _Oh don’t be that way. Remember that today is the day you get to learn some magic_.”

My mood picks up, “Oh right. Holy crap I’m actually going to get to pull one over Hoodini!”  
An annoyed grunt sounds off from behind me.

I freeze and turn to see a disheveled Asriel shifting around.

If I still had pores I would be sweating pretty heavily right about now. He thankfully turns away to avoid the sun rays beaming into his face and stays asleep.

A relieved breath that I have been holding is let out.

That was close.

Seeing as he was conked out this morning I decided to go out so as to not disturb him anymore.

There were no clouds, only clear skies as far as I could see and the only sign of yesterday’s rain is a few puddles or muddy areas that will be dried from the summer sun soon enough.  
Passing a few trees and rocks I decide to go up to the training ground to occupy my time. Of course Asriel has the swords so I can’t practice with those but a few punches and kicks will have to do for now.

It doesn't take long before I spot the rocky surface indicating that I arrived.

I close my eyes listening to the birds singing, the wind gently blowing, the wildlife chattering.

It was a reminder as to what I wanted to live for.

My eyes open up before I raise my fist ready to fight an imaginary opponent. I bob and weave throwing rapid punches and letting out the occasional kick which were unsurprisingly sloppy. But practice makes perfect one day I’ll be returning that kick to a certain ass. My thoughts began to wander to something about last night. For just a moment I had woken up to the feeling that something was wrong. What the problem was though was unclear. I can’t remember anything except that vague feeling that someone was hurting.

“Hey Drakaina?”

“ _Yes Sam?_ ”

“Did you notice something wrong with Asriel overnight?”

I was concerned that something was up but I couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

 _“No Sam, I wasn’t watching last night.”_ She answers

My fist pause for a moment, as I mull over her answer before I continue my onslaught against my invisible opponent.

Drakaina stays silent as I start focusing on kicks now.

“ _There were a couple battles... BIG ones._ ” She finally says.

Once again I paused waiting for her to elaborate but when I got nothing I decided to ask the big question. “Where did it happen?”

“ _Not here, but out in the multiverse there were some monstrous powerhouses going at it._ ”

I toss another question at her. “Who were they?”

“ _A vile creature called Betty was causing chaos on the surface. She picked up a rather large body count before she was ultimately put down._ ”

“By who?”

 _“I would rather not say. All I know was that victory was only an appetizer for something worse to come.”_ The way she said it told me that she would not be coaxed to tell anymore about that one but…

“What about the other ones?”`

“ _Two teenagers. Your age about. One is an angel who wished to change themselves for the better after betraying the ones that trusted him, another an anarchist hellbent to destroy everything in their path for the sake of cold revenge.”_

I didn’t know how to feel about this at first. It’s not like I know them but the idea of people just tearing each other apart out there left me unsettled. I know with the path I was taking now fighting would be inevitable but would I ever make it to such a large scale that I would be on the radar of everyone in the multiverse? Honestly I didn’t like the idea of other universes coming over and bringing their problems to us.

“They can’t come here right?” I ask worried.

 _“No, I won’t let them.”_ Her tone held a firmness that made me feel a bit safer.

I practice for a bit longer trying to do roundhouse kicks without cheating with my flight abilities. Of course I only manage to flail around like an ametuer ballerina before I eventually just decide to stop due to Drakaina’s laughter.

Sitting on top of a boulder my mind drifted off to random things out of boredom.

I wonder what magic he’s gonna show me?

Will I be able to spam fireballs like he can?

Asriel can create lightning. Does that mean he could shoot it out through his fingers like Papa Palpatine?

Hold on if I’m not solid how am I sitting on this boulder?

Wait how the hell am I gonna find my own body? I don’t even know where I was buried.

“There you are!”

Looking up I see Asriel floating down, in his adult form.

“I had a feeling I would find you here.” He says

Oh damn.

“Sorry about that I just didn’t want to bother you and sorta forgot to tell you that I was going up here.”

He brushes it off. “It’s no biggie just remember to do so next time. Ok?”

“Yea gotcha.”

He nods before he lands next to me and sits with his legs criss crossed.

“Now I do believe today is magic training?”

“Yup.” I was trying to act casual about the thought of learning magic but on the inside I was basically a giddy little kid.

The sheer thought of being able to learn this stuff legitimately was almost surreal. No card tricks or false illusions this was the real deal.

“Before we start I must warn you that while magic can be pretty cool to have it is also volatile in the hands of a beginner. So do NOT practice without me watching. **Do I make myself clear?** ”

“Yes sir.” God his teacher mode can actually be scary at times.

Now I am sure that you know the abilities of certain souls but not how one draws it out.

He tilts his head, “To be honest even I can’t fully understand how one draws it out because it’s different for everyone.”

“But in your case it came out only when you absolutely needed it.”

“Wait so how did you draw yours out.” I question

Asriel scratches his horns at my question. “Well...mine came from a desire.”

“A desire?”

He nods “Yes a will to protect or help others is what awoke my magic. Yours on the other hand will be much more difficult to manage.”

My face contorts into confusion at his statement. "How so?”

“The most difficult thing I imagine for a beginner such as yourself is differentiating between wanting to do something or needing to do something.” He explains. “For example if you wanted to throw a fireball at one of the rocks here you would need to find a reason as to why you need to throw one. Do you need to practice throwing fireballs at a rock for improvement or do you want to throw one just because you want to?”

I somewhat understood where he was going with this. “So my magic will only come out if I find that it’s genuinely a necessity right?”

“That’s right. So as long as you have genuine conviction to do something you should be able to unlock it.”

He stands up and hops off the boulder walking to the center of our training ground.

“One day using magic will be as natural as breathing for you but first I want to show you an ancient magic that has been used for over a millennia by monsters.”

Curiosity took hold of me. “What is it?”

“It’s called the battle system.” He answers.

That sounds awesome.

“In order to use it though I need to manifest your soul to its purest state. May I?”

I was nervous about the idea of having my soul being tampered around with but I trusted him.

“Go ahead.”

He raises a claw out and a funny feeling forms in my chest. Everything in the world blinks on and off from its original colorful nature to black and white. It does this a few more times before settling onto black and white. I look around to see everything dark except me and Asriel. It was like we were back in the void again.

“Where are we?” I ask confused

“Still on the mountain don’t worry this is part of the battlesystem. Now look down.”

I follow his directions and see glowing orange signs in front of me and a yellow bar with a number next to it.

Samuel LV 1 HP 30/30

*FIGHT

*ACT

*ITEMS

*MERCY

“Ok this is really cool.” Just when I thought that I had seen everything the world proves me wrong once again.

I look up to see a glowing red heart with a light blue outline hovering in front of me.

“That’s your soul, the very culmination of your being. Protect it the best you can from those who wish to harm it.” Asriel warns.  
I nod mesmerized by its glow.

“I know you already noticed the buttons from earlier. I want you to press the ACT button please.

My hand reaches out to the box that says ACT and I press it. I hear a click and see more options pop up.

*CHECK *INSULT

*FLEE

*TALK

My eyebrow raises at the options before me.  
“The act button will be an important tool for solving things peacefully among other monsters or in rare cases of a soul battle between humans BUT only if you use it correctly.” He points at my insult option.

“There is also riling up an opponent in an attempt to escalate or unbalance someone mentally to give you a possible edge or possibly make it worse for yourself.”

I look warily at the insult option. “Yeah I don’t think I’ll be using that against anyone until I actually know what I'm doing or if they actually deserve it.”

“Good now, I want you to CHECK me.” He says.

“...Pardon?”

“Just press the button.”

I click onto it and get another batch of new info.

*ASRIEL DREEMURR 60ATK 60DEF  
*Guardian, teacher, and friend. You can’t keep relying on him forever though.

Those words made me sober up to the reality that I’m in. It was true he won’t always be there but that's one of the reasons I want to get stronger as well. Still it made me tighten up with anxiety.

 _“Don’t worry you’ll be a force to be reckoned with when the time comes for you to venture without him and I’ll still be here if you need me.”_ Drakaina assures.

I take a deep breath to quell the anxiety down. “Thanks Drakaina.”

“Something wrong Sam?” That seems to be a motto with him. I seriously got to just learn to keep a straight face.

“No your stats are just higher than I thought.” A lie to keep him from worrying.

He smirks “You should see my parents power then you would be in for a real shocker.

I didn’t doubt it.

“Now let’s move onto ITEMS. I use this to summon my weapon of choice.”

“Wait, I can get a big sword by using the ITEMS button?”

He shakes his head “Not exactly. A weapon usually has to be found and then stored in your ITEMS for safekeeping until you click on them to summon it like I do. If you already got a weapon equipped it’ll warp in automatically. Unfortunately you don’t have one right now but you can borrow mines for a demonstration.”

Asriel lazily flicks a clawed finger out and his sabers spawn in. He then flips them over and hands them over to me.

*You got the **CHAOS SABERS**.*

…”That’s what they're called?”

“Pfftt” I stifle a laugh

“That’s so geeky! Holy shit this is an OC’s weapon right here!”

His face contorts to such an offended look that one would think that I just said the most racially incriminating thing on the planet. He raises a finger at me.

*Zap*

“Gah! What the hell!?”

“Don’t talk badly about them. They are my pride.”

I rub the spot he zapped me in. “Alright I’m sorry god.”

“You are forgiven.”

~~Little shit.~~

“Now press the ITEMS button.” He commands

I do so seeing the Chaos Sabers now labeled in the once empty space.

Clicking on it a white glow just like Asriel’s appears in my hand and they both pop in.

I gaped in amazement.

From that point forward we skipped the mechanics of the FIGHT button seeing as it’ll be involved for another lesson. He instead explains about how the mercy button works. It’s rather simple really, if you can talk out of a fight the opponents name will appear in yellow. When yellow you can elect to click the name and spare them ending the battle with no harm done. I’ll be honest I think the only practical thing of the battlesystem was the CHECK and ITEMS so far. I don’t really like the idea of having to press a button to do something. Well whatever it was still cool and we have more stuff coming up anyway. Now let's get magical.

Bonus: My hand reaches out to the box that says ACT and I press it. I hear a click and see more options pop up.

*CHECK *INSULT

*FLIRT *FLEE

*TALK

My eyebrow raises at the option in the first row in the middle.

“What is this?”

“Don’t touch it.”

“Imma touch it.”

“Don’t you dare touch it!”

*Click*

My mouth opens up “You know humans have had goats for a delicacy before but don’t worry I’ll be bringing you uncooked for dinner tonight.”

My hand slaps over my mouth. “What the fuck!?”

Asriel turns around with a hand covering his face.

“I DON’T SWING THAT WAY I SWEAR!” I cry out

“ _On a first date Sam? Really? Well at least you have the decency to take him out first._ ” Drakaina teases.

“AUGH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience. I can't tell you how many times that I had changed the chapters plot. Also I hope you guys like these small references I put in of other fics and popular AU's. It's a good reminder that Cami's or anyone's universe (Except for the shit post ones with the OP OC'S) are basically neighbors that Drakaina has to babysit for Sam's sake.


	14. It’s Time To Put In Some Grit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lack of confidence is one of many mind killers.

Samuel’s POV:

I forgot that time could go so fast when you actually are given something that is genuinely enjoyable to do. Which is a bit surprising because I thought that not having any video games or Youtube would be awful up here. Thankfully Asriel’s lessons were pretty interactive. Not to say that all of the lessons were fun. Occasionally we would have to sit down for an hour or two so I could try and awaken the soul magic I had in me. It was met with no success so far but he stayed patient with me in the weeks we would attempt to draw it out. Speaking of weeks it was almost September. While I wasn’t able to activate any of my more amazing powers I was able to find out some quality of life changes with the stat menu that was shown to me when I officially started lessons. It can keep track of time and had a calendar with it that kept updating as each day passed.

Simple but useful and eventually it’ll get better if I can find a way to add Hulu or Netflix onto this thing. Onto other things though.  
While my magic was not successful my swordsmanship was getting better. Not that I became a master or anything that would be ridiculous. I’m mostly implying that I actually was taught some things about the sword form I use along with some fighting moves. Asriel explained that I was using a longsword guard that was actually pretty strong even on shorter swords. He also wanted to know where I learned it and I responded saying “I just held it like Luke Skywalker did in the Starwars movies”. His look of confusion was amusing.

The only time that I would get a day off from practice was on a Sunday. On those days we would head out back to the BestBuy in the plaza not to really browse anymore but just to watch some movies on the TV’s they keep in the back. It was great. If only we could touch some of the controllers by the gaming section then maybe I could convert Asriel to become one of us. Yes I could see he would be a fine gamer. Alas I must be patient and hardworking for this to become a reality.

Oh and I found out the city was called Ebott city….I know real original isn’t it?

 _“Something on your mind Samuel?”_ Drakaina asks.

Oh right got lost in thought. I seem to be doing that alot recently.

“Well you for starters.”

_“Real funny.”_

“Only the best for you Jiminy.”

My sarcasm will piss off the wrong person one day. I could feel it. Thankfully she’s rather lax with my sass. Really makes me forget that I’m working with an omnipresent powerhouse instead of a regular person.

“ _No seriously, what’s on your mind?”_ She presses.

“Nothing much, was just thinking back to all of the events that have happened these past few weeks.” I answer.

_“Stressed about your progress?”_

A little honesty with her won’t hurt. “Maybe a little bit.”

 _“Samuel you have nothing to worry about.”_ She consoles

My eyes cast down “I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m letting you guys down each time I don’t make progress with my magic.”

 _“Don’t push yourself in your guilt to try and rush for the finish; it'll only harm you.”_ She sagely reprimands.

I feel a sigh leave me “I know, I know but I just can’t help but feel bad for taking up both of your time.”

_“Sam, none of us were expecting it to be easy. We truly don’t mind the wait so as long as you put in effort. Ok?”_

My shoulders slump down “Ok.”

_“Asriel is still out by the training site so swing over there if you’re feeling for an extra day. If not you are free to wander this Sunday.”_

And wander I did all the way back to Ebott city. A small adventure to the other parts of the city will probably help bulk up my mood. Asriel can sense out my soul if he needs me after all I am the only human soul with a magic signature out here. Looking around I notice people in their cars who were stopped by the traffic lights dressed up nicely. It was midday so I can assume that they were all just heading or returning from church. Church….

An intense migraine decides to act up in my head causing me to stumble to my knees. Church...mom loved to go to church. Mom? I lift my head up and everything is all distorted. I clench my eyes shut and shook my head to try and get rid of the slight sense of dizziness. I gasp when I reopen them. I stand trying to gain bearings of where I am by scanning around at the architecture of the building I was in. There was a podium up front with a cross in the back along with rows of chairs. The room was large enough to keep at least a hundred or so people in it. Just then another migraine decides to pass through once again causing me to groan in pain and fall back on my knees. Thankfully it passes a lot quicker along with the strange distortion. This time when my vision clears I could see people. No something was wrong, they looked greyed out and weren’t moving as if frozen in time.

“What is this?” It was all I could ask. Everything here looks so familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

~~“$@M~!”~~

A voice?

_“Samuel!”_

I sat up gasping out. It was dark out save for the passing cars and street lights.

“What happened?”

 _“I should be asking you that!”_ Drakaina exclaims in worry. _“You just stared out and fainted for the whole day!”_

My brow quirks in confusion “What!? But I was only gone for a few minutes.”

_“Gone?”_

“I-I was at a church.” I try explaining

….!

“I think I remembered something but it was vague at best.”

_“A memory? What was it about?”_

My head let out a small throbbing pain at her question but it didn’t escalate past that.

“My...mom she...she liked to go to church a lot.”

_“A woman of faith?”_

I nod. “She had to have been but whether or not she went here was very unclear.”

A frown worms its way to my face. I need to know if this same place exists here or it’ll bother me for god knows how long. “Drakaina I need to check if this building I saw was here. Can you look for churches?”

_“It’s already dark shouldn’t you head back before Asriel thinks that something is going on?”_

She makes a decent point but I need to get this over with while I’m already here. Why waste another trip?

“Please I’ll just skim through them and I’ll head back I promise!” I begged.

A moment of silence before she lets out a sigh. _“Fine there are about five churches around the city that I can direct you to but remember what you said. Be quick.”_

“Thank you!” What a relief I thought that I was going to have to search without her support.

??? POV:

….*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*

My eyes slowly lift open to the sound of my door being knocked upon.

“Golly who could it be at this hour?” I mutter.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*

“Just a moment please!” I call out

I slide out of bed rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trudge at the door.

Opening it I look out to see nothing there.

“Uhhh d-down here your m-majesty.”

My eyes slide down to be greeted by none other than the royal scientist.

“Ah Doctor Alphys what is it that you require?”

She bows “Forgive me your majesty. But I have s-some important news to d-deliever.”

I wave it off “Nonsense Doctor Alphys I know you don’t mean any harm in it. Now... what is it?”

She twirls her fingers looking nervous. “The fifth human soul was j-just taken not so long ago and is now being stored with the others.”

My soul jumps “...How did they die?”

“They were killed by one of the royal guards in Waterfall.”

“Was any monster hurt?”

“N-no your majesty.”

I stood in silence letting this sink in.

“You may go now thank you for telling me this.”

She bows before she heads off quietly. When she’s gone I shut the door before sitting on the side of my bed in the dark. I clasp my hands to my face feeling the familiar guilt of my actions taking hold. I knew at this moment that I would not be sleeping tonight.

Samuel’s POV:

Nothing... I found nothing like the building I saw. The only thing of interest that happened was some teens smoking smarties and telling jokes about it only for one to accidentally snort one up their nose and sneeze out some extra red sugar. While I was grateful that I could scratch that itch of knowing if the church in my memory was here it only showed that I still had the entire island to search. Hell it might not be on this island I only saw what was inside. This place could be on the other side of the planet for all I know.

I grunt in frustration before looking up at Mount Ebbot. Remembering the promise that I made I got ready to take off.

 **“Hold it right there little ghost…”** My body freezes when I hear the sound of a gun being cocked.

“Turn around slowly with your hands up.” He sounded like..Husk from Hazbin Hotel?

I raise my hands up slowly and turn slow like he wanted. I was soon met face to face with two red eyes and a deer skull. My eyes trail down to the revolver covered in a yellow sheen over it.

 _“Justice magic, follow along with his request for now if things get ugly I can transform you again.”_ Drakaina informs.

Don’t worry about me moving. I'm almost paralyzed with how terrified I am. You know if I did turn and found out that I was being robbed by a fucking cartoon character instead of this thing I would have been perfectly happy about it. Unfortunately he only sounds like him but he didn’t look like him.

He leans in so that I was looking directly into the red pupils of his eye sockets.

“You have quite the strange soul, little ghost. Be lucky that I was nice enough to not shoot first and ask questions later.”

He walks around me inspecting me as if measuring out my worth for existence.

“Now **why is a human soul wandering out here alone?”**

“I got bored.”

He stops back in front of me. “No that’s not it. You were going around with a purpose in mind.”

He squats down to get in my face again. “I had sensed a disturbance up in Mount Ebott and I don’t think it was a coincidence that a powerful human soul comes down from there.”

My brow furrows

“I’ll tell you but I would like to know if you understand the definition of what personal space is.”

My eyes widened when I realized that I had just impulsively mouthed off to something that had me at gunpoint.

To my surprise though I heard a snort from him. “Well I guess you’re not as big of a bitch as I thought if you’re cracking jokes when staring death in the face.”

“I’ll take that compliment.”

His eye sockets somehow narrow in amusement “Oh I like you…”

A piece of cloth is taken out from the black robe he was wearing. “We’ll discuss what your objectives are in a more...comfortable place.”

He starts wrapping it around my eyes. While struggling seems tempting I don’t want to make a damn wendigo angry if Asriel doesn’t show. So I let him do his thing before he promptly takes one of my wrists and starts leading me somewhere. I shuddered at his cold touch, not used to having anything else touching me.

At least I can take comfort in knowing that if he tries to kill me then I still have Drakaina’s power to rely on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam will have to head in the underground with a body before the seventh falls onto a certain someone's grave if you know what I mean :)


	15. Daemonium Venator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Asriel is on the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late to Undertale's 5th anniversary but better late then never.

Asriel’s POV:

Stars, I am such an idiot! Leaving him on his own like that! The way his soul called out for help only for it to get snuffed out. 

My fangs bared as I felt my magic begin to boil. "If any follower of Gaster’s found us and is using him as bait!” I growl unsure of what I would do but I know it wouldn’t be pretty. Scanning the city below all I saw were the street lights of the city and vehicles before I found the spot I had last sensed Sam’s soul. Shifting my eyes around I looked for anything that could clue me in as to what happened.

As far as I could see there is nothing obvious that could point to a battle taking place which was worrying.

“No struggle. I know Sam’s fighting style well enough and he is very good at stalling in fights. Something must have snuck up on him. ” I note to myself.

The sounds of footsteps to my left causes me to summon my Chaos Sabers and ready myself for a fight. I quickly lower them when I see it’s some humans just walking by. Shifting back to the crime scene I try looking for any residue of magic. Whoever it was could cloak their presence along with whatever it took so maybe it can go invisible? I shut my eyes feeling my aura reach out around me trying to pick at anything unusual. 

….Nothing? No there has to be some kind of trace left behind I got here five minutes after Sam’s disappearance they can’t have covered up their tracks so perfectly in that short a time. I look both ways to check if anymore humans were walking by. Thankfully the group that passed by is gone and no one else is coming. For now it’s just me. I light up a small fire in my hands to illuminate the surrounding area better. The street lamps just won’t cut it for closer inspections of the area. I kneel down scouring around for any small thing that could point me in the right direction of Sam’s kidnapper. 

“Come on..come on give me something.” Every minute that I spent unsuccessfully finding any traces was another bit of distance that was put between me and this kidnapper. 

……

…….

…..!

There! Something just fluttered on the sidewalk! I run over and grab it just before it could fly off in the wind. A piece of cloth? I inspected it carefully noticing how odd the material felt. 

“Is this enchanted? No, I would have felt magic emitting from it. Unless the enchantment was made to avoid detection from sensory type magic users?” 

Flipping it over I notice numbers engraved on the back. My lips purse trying to understand what I have just found. A password? ...No wait I know this, Gerson taught me just a bit about this. Coordinates but I was never able to fully grasp the concept before Chara and I passed. So how do I read this without his help?

…! 

I have an idea. It’ll just require a bit of skill and luck. Samuel told me about computers before as I had been curious about them when we went into “Best Buy.” They are basically really cool devices that store information from all over the world into one small packaging. Sounds a lot more convenient then searching through books that’s for sure. Maybe if I type this in one of their computers it can give me a map of where this location is? 

“Whoa what the hell!?”

I quickly extinguish the flame in a panic. I had forgotten about my surroundings for a brief moment and three humans had gone down the street without me noticing. 

“Did you see that!?” The tall male up front asks.

“Looked like a floating batch of fire…” His friend to the right confirmed.

I took off hearing the sounds of their confusion quickly fading away. Though not without one last word reaching my ears. “Ghost.”  
Quickly rushing over to the shopping plaza I locate the store and phase through the walls. Here is hoping they keep some of the stuff on after closing. Ok what do we have here? Four guards but that won’t matter too much and, YES they left a few on. Lowering myself to a computer I examine the “keyboard” and “mouse.”

“Alright.” I mutter to myself “Lets see how this works.” 

I focus a bit of magic on the tip of my claws and press down on one of the letters. Uh nothing happened? I scratch my horns in confusion unsure as to how to fully use this thing without Sam’s help. Ok what was the next step? ...Oh right I have to get on...what was it that Sam said it was called “Gooble?” Thank the stars I remember about how the mouse works at least. I grab the mouse and wave it around experimentally noticing the “cursor” waving around with it. Scanning the screen I see a G on the application bar on the bottom. I click it and the site loads. “Oh wait it’s called “Google.” I shake my head noticing that I was letting myself get distracted. “Focus Azzy someone needs you.” I unfold the cloth in my palm and look at the coordinates in the back. Carefully I input the numbers I saw on the cloth I found before hitting enter.

…

There it is! A red pin was pointing outside the city limits. Clicking on it I get a picture of a brown run down shed seeming to be rotting with age and neglect. I begin to study the map carefully trying to memorize where it is.

“Someone leave this on?”

Agh the guards! I look one last time at the map as he approaches to close the computer. “Alright I have it memorized.” I fly out and immediately head for the shed's location.  
The city lights were becoming faint as I exited the city’s border. The trees and darkness made it harder to see what was below so I made the decision to go on foot. I land and once again ignite a small fire in hand for sight. I ready my saber seeing as I could be in enemy territory now. The songs of the wind brushing through the grass and trees kept me on alert. 

Since I only have the general area of where I’m supposed to go and not the exact spot I’ll have to search around and hope that I can find it soon. All though it might be a good idea to mark trees I go past so I’m not walking in circles. With that plan in mind I give the tree closest to me a quick swipe of my saber and begin my search for the shed. 

20 minutes later…

WHERE IS IT!?

I couldn’t help but dig my claws into my robe as the stress began to build up.  
The confidence I had earlier was beginning to wane. While I was certain I had the right place at first now my certainty has become doubt. 

“Please tell me that I actually read the map right.”

The sheer thought that I actually went on a goose chase would be laughable if not for the context of what’s at stake. Maybe I should go back and check the computer again? I mean I have to be su-” *THUNK* 

“OW!” I rub my horns to check if anything was chipped.

“Jeez what did I walk…” The realization kicks in. I bumped into something? How? I reach to feel out in front of me only to be met with resistance.

“An invisible barrier?” 

It’s weak, probably to protect against small wildlife, humans or even minor spirits. I focus my magic feeling it coursing through me before I jab my claws out in a stabbing motion and rip apart a small opening to fit in. I grunt as I squeeze through and feel the barrier snap behind me almost taking off a small piece of my robe. Looking forward I saw the shed that looked exactly like what was in the picture I saw. Brown, small and rotting down from age. Who would live here? Even the cave was a better place than this. I walk over to the front door preparing my chaos saber and charge magic into my right foot before kicking the door off its hinges. I rushed in expecting an attack but to my surprise there was no resistance.

The only thing here was a torn up carpet, some old broken tools and dust. I wasn’t convinced that this was all it would be, a barrier that weak needs maintenance to hold or it’ll eventually shatter on its own. I reach out with my aura again and sense something unusual under the carpet. I crouch down and pull the carpet out of the way to see a sturdy metal hatch.

“Classic trap door but another barrier is protecting it. Can’t pry it open silently since it’s stronger.” I evaluate.

I ball my claws into a fist combining my fire into it. While fire fists were not a new thing, my mom made it something to be feared when she uppercutted my dad by accident when he snuck up on her when she was talking to another monster. I practiced that move since I had nothing better to do in the century I was gone. Tonight though I’ll be finding out if it’s also a good breaching tool.

I slam my fist down into the barrier causing it to completely shatter and blow out the hatch with everything below it. If the explosion didn’t alert whoever lived here the ground tremor definitely did. I hopped in through the smoke to find that this person's secret bunker is...actually nice? Everything except the area I breached was almost spotless. This place was finely furnished with things like a TV and the gaming consoles Sam obsessed over. There were additional hallways and doors here that probably led to more areas as well.

Seeing as I was in an enclosed environment I switched to dual wielding my sabers to avoid any more chances of setting this place on fire and burning everyone inside. 

*CRUNCH*

Just then the door is smashed open letting me see the end of a rifle barrel poke out in my direction. I had only just enough time to dive behind a wall as I heard a thunderous clap and something whips right past me. Letting out a shaky breath at the near miss I hunker behind my cover which I realized was also protected by strong barriers. It’s probably why my assailant hasn’t shot through the walls yet. However they still have the advantage, if I rush now I would probably get filled with holes but if he rushes around the corner he’ll be in lunging distance of my sabers. They probably know this which is why he hasn’t moved for it yet. So we’re basically stuck in a stand still right now.

My eyes flicker to a hallway down to my right with another door at the end of it. 

“That’ll have to do.” I mutter 

I turn my attention back to my assailant.

“We can still resolve this peacefully if you give him back!” I offer.

There was a moment of silence before a gruff voice cut in “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

The rage that I felt when I first discovered Sam’s kidnapping burst in. “Don’t lie to me! I know you took him from that street! If you don’t return him to me you leave me no choice but to take him back by force!”

I hear a small snort “Like hell you will. I know your plans, with an exotic soul like his you want to take it for yourself. I won’t let a demon like you acquire such a power on my watch!”

“What!?” I was so appalled at his assumption that my anger was momentarily forgotten. “I would never do such a thing and I’m no demon!”

“That’s what they all say. Your kind were always adamant on deceiving others.” 

So much for ending this peacefully. “I’m telling you the truth, but if you won’t believe me then you leave me with no choice!”

I fly off towards a door on my right and phase through it. There was a pretty fancy table, an expensive looking fridge and marble counters with a sink. Where did he even get this stuff?

I try looking for a spot to hide in before he realizes that I left the room. Under the table would probably be the first spot that he would check. There is a closet but he would probably shoot through it to ensure that I wasn’t in there. Looking up, I notice that the ceiling here was high enough to keep me out of his vision unless he looks directly up. I remember something Sam once told me during one of my lessons in the weeks before “For some reason hardly anyone looks up when searching for a person. So I decided to jump your ass from the trees to catch you off guard. It would have worked too if you didn’t have the ability to sense my soul out.”

I kick over the table to make it look as though I was hiding behind it and to alert the kidnapper that I moved rooms. The rapid approach of footsteps was all the warning I got that he heard the racket, so I jumped up and waited to ambush him from the ceiling. Bullets crack below me and completely turn the once well decorated table into splinters. It’s a good thing that guns were still a thing when I was alive or I would not have had the concept of what bullet penetration was and hid behind the table. My soul tightens when the barrel from the rifle peeks out in my vision and swivels around trying to pick up any sign of me. Even without the need to breathe I could feel myself take involuntary shuddering breaths in the terror of him peeking up before he was in ambush position. 

*Bang* *Bang*

I flinch from the roar of his gun. He prefired into the closet as I predicted. If I had chosen that spot the closet door would not have been the only thing full of holes. It made me wonder what would happen if I were to die again. Would I return to the void? Will I finally pass on to the heavens or would I cease to exist? A chill ran through me on the last thought. I feel myself tremble when his rifle barrel climbs up to a part of the ceiling. I was just out of his field of vision but if he walks a little forward he will probably see my head. 

“Focus Azzy, there is no time to be afraid he needs you.” I quietly remind myself. 

There has to be something I can do to get out of this. Shrinking down to my child form was seeming to be a good idea to make myself harder to see and hit but the light from the transformation would give me away and seeing how I don’t have any cover well he would still shoot me even if I was small. My claws curl tightly on my sabers as I see his leg stick out when he takes another step forward. He...he has hoofs!? A monster up here on the surface!? Alive!?

No focus! I shift my eyes around looking for anything I could use.

…

Wait the lights! I can short out the lights with my lightning!

This place is getting electricity somehow so there has to be a wire in the ceiling or wall. I pressed my palm against the ceiling and to my relief I could feel a current in it. I charge up electricity just as he takes another step forward. I was able to get a glance at him more clearly now. He had a black robe on with a hood making him seem like the human’s version of death itself. The top of his hood also had antler’s poking out of them. He was also around my height making him seem much more opposing. 

*POP*

“The fuck!?” The kidnapper turns his attention away bewildered at the lights all shorting out and exploding glass on the floor. It was eerily dark now. 

“Did it find the power box!?” He turns his gun away from the ceiling and points it back into the hall we came from.

There’s my opening! I drop down my sabers raised up and slash down at his back causing him to yell out in pain and surprise.  
He tries to point his rifle at me but I slice it clean in half. In a desperate attempt to gain momentum he tackles me to the ground causing me to lose my grip on my sabers. I roll him onto the ground only for him to use my momentum against me and roll me back down below him where he let two punches loose onto my face. My ears were ringing but I was able to shift my head to the side making him miss his third punch and allowing me to counter by head butting him in the face with my horns. A crack is heard and he stumbles back clenching his face.

The darkness of the room completely obscured his features but the way he stared back at me gave me the idea that he didn’t like that hit one bit.

“Ready to give up?” I ask

He doesn’t say anything and reaches for his hood. I recoil as the skull of a deer with a fresh crack on the top of his forehead looked me in the eyes.

“You...You’re a wendigo? I thought all of you went extinct.”

In the underground I had only heard of wendigo's; they were prideful hunters that would go after any game that provided a challenge with the exception of humans till the war happened. Their hunts were infamous at the time because they would make groups of human soldiers disappear in isolated areas like mountains or forest. Rumors were spread among the humans that they were eaten alive and since wendigo’s generally went out alone other monsters could not confirm if this was true. These rumors alone were enough to get the humans to focus their attention on them and even bigger search parties were sent along with mages. They were all hunted down ironically to their last kin or so I heard.

“You're fun prey demon. Most of your kind either just charge at me or run away with no strategy in mind. This is definitely a change of pace that I’ll enjoy.”

I scoff in annoyance “I told you I’m not a demon. What will it take to convince you otherwise?”

“Are you saying you're a monster then?” He lets out a small chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous, even boss monsters can’t last more than a few seconds before their soul crumbles and passes on to the afterlife.”

Before I can defend myself from his accusations he reaches for something in his robe which prompts me to rush at him to stop what he was doing. I was able to catch his hand to see that he tried to quickly draw a revolver so I tried to wrestle it from his control.  
*Bang* *Bang*

A few shots were discharged at the ceiling in our power struggle. My arms were straining desperately trying to disarm him of his weapon. We tumble down into another hall and hit the walls along the way until eventually we smashed through another door into a bathroom. In a burst of strength I lift him and smash his back into a mirror behind me causing it to shatter and make him lose his grip of the revolver. He growls in pain from the force and glass embedded into his back before he kicks me in the chest sending me tumbling into the bathtub. I scramble to get out only to get planted back into it with another well placed kick in my chest. He pulls off the metal rods holding the curtains and I see a barrier like the ones around the house form onto it and he swings at me. I raise my forearms to block and feel them rattle from the force. The burning sensation on my arms from just one strike was enough to weaken my guard and he capitalized on it with no hesitation. 

*Clunk*

My vision was filled with stars and I nearly blackout. All of my strength seemed to leave me making me momentarily defenseless when he grabs my foot and drags me towards the bathroom door entrance. Noticing this I try to kick him with my free foot but he only chuckles in amusement before catching it and swings me around by both my feet. I feel myself go flying and my back connects into a barrier cracking it and the wall. 

“Well you were tough I’ll give you that but you’ll fall like the rest.” 

I opened my eyes and looked up at him but didn’t make a retort. I had one last thing I could try but it’ll take everything I had left in me. The wendigo however took my silence as my acceptance of defeat. He walks backwards not looking away from me to ensure that I didn’t do anything behind his back and picks up the revolver. I hear the hammer click and he walks towards me aiming it into my face. 

“This is lights out.” 

I let out a tired grin “For you maybe.”

A burst of lightning erupts from the broken lights in the ceiling. The jolt causes his aim to get thrown off and fire off his gun next to me barely missing my head. I could hear him groaning in pain from the jolt but those groans soon turned to screams as I unleashed even more power in the broken lights above. The entire hall was bathed in a blue light that would have looked beautiful had it not been for the monster that I was currently frying. I drop him after the seven second mark feeling my magic deplete. His once red pupils were now blacked out and his body was emitting smoke from the punishment I dealt. He was unconscious that much was for certain. I let out a relieved sigh and shakily got onto my feet. I give the wendigo one last look before limping away to find Sam. That was definitely no ordinary monster; he had to be a boss monster like me. He was experienced with fighting and it showed. Luckily the lights that I blew out could still conduct electricity so I could use it as a makeshift tesla coil but it was a close one. I had to break the rule of not using anything that could burn this place down two times. Thankfully I’m pretty precise with my lightning so I wouldn’t hit anything combustible. I approach the door that the wendigo first burst through assuming that was where he was holding Sam. I look down to see stairs and I had to restrain myself from hitting my head into a barrier out of frustration. My mom and dad always taught me to never say profanity because I had to set myself as an example as a brother and a prince but considering the throbbing pain in my head and back, the exhaustion also the stairs to add on top of it I think I am warranted one pass.

“......Fuck me.”

Sam would have been proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the case that you're confused as to how Asriel can still get touched even as a ghost let me explain. It is canon that ghost can only be hurt by magic in the game so since monsters are made of magic they have the ability to physically interact with ghost be it to give a hug or punch them in the face.


	16. A Pleasant Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The complexity of people's intentions is the most frustrating thing to introverts such as Sam. Especially when it's not exactly a person.

Asriel’s POV:

*Huff* *Hah*

I will not forgive myself if stairs were what stopped me after I came so close to finding him.

I am the prince of monsters not the helpless cry baby that no one needed all those years ago. The mistakes of my past will not be repeated. With these thoughts in mind I trudged on ignoring the pain the best I could.

My slow pace made the climb down feel so much longer. It was like I was going down to the very core of the world before I finally found a metal door with some kind of pad on it.

“A number combination?” I stared at it slowly feeling despair well up. I didn’t have the strength to pry open the barrier covering it so I could phase through and it was password protected. I turned and pressed my back against the door. I slid down it into a sitting position completely spent. I can only rest and hope that I would wake up before the wendigo up the stairs does but the chances of that were so low.

*Thunk*

…?

“Was that the sound of someone hitting metal?”

*THUNK*

I jumped back as the door behind me now had a fresh indent on the upper half of it.

*THUNK*

The door budged open slightly. I brace myself ready to meet my end again.

***THUNK***

The metal door blew off of it’s hinges and sailed over my head cracking the stairs behind me. My eyes widen at the display of strength. I look back at the now destroyed doorway to see an unnatural darkness as thick as the void itself. The only indicator that there was something there was two white dots peering down at me in the inky dark. My soul was instantly filled with icy terror. It was like a nightmare in its purest form was staring me down.

“Asriel?”

I felt myself freeze. “S-Sam?”

The unnatural darkness dissipated along with the glowing dots revealing my friend. All manner of fear was gone and quickly replaced with that of relief.

“You’re alive!” I stood up and tried to reach out to check if he had any injuries but my legs just seemed to have gone numb causing me to fall forward. I was quickly caught in his grip and he adjusted so that I was leaning on him as a support.

“Who did this to you?” He asks with clear anger in his voice.

“The same monster that took you.” I answer

His expression contorts to a confused look. “You mean Holter?”

“You know his name?”

“Yea we had a bit of a conversation before he had to run upstairs.” Sam shifts to a more thoughtful look. “He was nice in his own weird way.”

My form glowed, shrinking back down into my weaker state in the effort to stay awake. Sam noticing this picks me up and sets me onto his back so that I was piggyback riding him. I was too tired and hurt to protest and just leaned in to get comfortable. It was still a little embarrassing seeing as I was about over a century old.

“What did you two talk about?”

“Well…”

Sam’s POV: One hour ago…

You know what I was expecting when I was kidnapped by a wendigo? To have my soul eaten or to be turned into one of them just like in the folktales. But to be sat into what I would say is a pretty expensive panic room and given free movement like I was a guest? Well it was a little bit awkward. The room was covered in thick steel plating with a leather couch fitted to face a wide screen TV. There was also a fridge and a couple giant safes filled with god knows what. The only thing that I could pick up in this room that probably didn’t cost at least a couple kidney‘s were the fluorescent lights that most people would spot in a typical school or warehouse.

I shifted sprawling my arms lazily across the glass table in between us.

“So…”

The wendigo’s red eye lights shifted to me to show I had his attention.

“Do you actually eat people?”

Somehow despite having a deer skull for a face it scrunches up in disgust.

“Of course not.” He answers with clear repulse. “Our kind may be hunters but we cannot eat our kills. Rather we gave them away to other predators or simply took their skins to make clothing.”

He leans back into his chair letting it teeter on its back legs “Like all monsters if we eat anything solid we would get sick from it.” The wendigo sets the chair back on all fours and I could feel an aggravated aura emit from him. “Of course your ancestors attacked our kind so we did what we always have and hunted them to give us a fighting chance.”

A chill went down my back but I didn’t want to give him any sign of fear and maintained a straight face. The monster in front of me has been around for far longer than Asriel and he’s an experienced killer. He hasn’t done much to me but still this was someone who probably has ended lives without batting an eye or eye socket in his case. This should be talked out delicately if I want to get out of this place.

The aura vaporizes as he leans down onto the table like a bored college student who was desperately trying to stay awake in an important class. “Let's move on to another topic, you’re probably wondering as to why the hell I brought you here right?”

“I do.”

He sits back up into his chair reminding me as to how tiny I am compared to him and that if I got onto his bad side he could flatten me quickly.

“Well little ghost you clearly know the first part as to why I have brought you here.”

“My soul right?”

The sound of sarcastic clapping echoes in the room. “Correct I guess you really do have some smarts.”

I frown at his condescending attitude but keep quiet. The wendigo notices this and lets out a bark of laughter.

“Calm down little ghost I was only pulling off your leg.”

I rub my temples in annoyance “You're not even saying it right...also why do you keep calling me little ghost?”

His expression steels quickly as if recalling something.

“You are small and weak like a child. If a demon were to catch you the soul you possess would be devoured in no time, little ghost.”  
I flinch back like I was slapped in the face, hearing him say that stung because in a way he was right. I had trained for at least a month but at the first real encounter in the living world, I quivered like that of a child. I wanted to hide behind the leg of the one who had helped take care of me. It was embarrassing how I got myself into trouble only for Asriel or Drakaina to deal with it for me. My fist balled up.

“Maybe you’re right but regardless of my strength I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t disappoint the souls who made my appearance here possible. They put in a lot of work on my behalf so I refuse to be discouraged by the likes of you.”

The wendigo’s expression went completely blank then quicker then I could blink he lunges forward to grab me by the neck and slams my back into the steel walls. “You talk big but let's see how much your resolve will hold against overwhelming strength.”

“ _Sam!”_ Drakaina cries out.

The familiar sensation of power that I had in the void began to flow in me. I was ready to put him in his place until I remembered what he said.

“Drakaina, no let me do this on my own!” I gasp trying to pry his arms off of my neck.

_“Are you insane!? He’s going to take your soul!”_

“Let me have this! He’s doing this to prove himself right. He wants me to use your power to prove that I can’t do things on my own.”

His arm wasn’t budging, he’s so strong!

 _“Don’t let your pride be what ends you!”_ She shouts angered at my stubbornness.

I let go of his arm then go to jam my hand into his eye socket. He recoils back from the immense discomfort.

“If you so much as put one bit of power in me I will be extremely pissed at you.”

I could almost imagine the look of shock on her face when I said that.

_“...Fine, but if it looks like you can’t handle it then I’m doing it regardless of your feelings.”_

“That’s fine by me.”

I raise my fist up at my opponent. “If you're gonna take my soul from me, I’ll make you work for it!” I challenge

“Brave words but I can smell your fear.” The wendigo marches at me slowly.

Even despite the terror I felt I let out a small smile. “Oh I’m afraid alright but not of you.”

The wendigo pauses confused by what I meant.

“I’m afraid of what I’ll do to you!” Despite knowing how badly this would get I lashed at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still here everyone do not panic...yet. I am currently busy pre-writing other chapters. Oh and I just beat Hollow Knight. Great game. Ironically Nightmare King Grimm kicked the shit out of me. The amount of attempts I put into killing him made me physically want to make a distortion between time and space to punch him in his smug face HARD. Also can tall people and monsters stop beating up Sam!?


	17. Prove Thyself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When fighting an overwhelming force playing fair should not be in your list of concerns.

*Crack*

The wendigo’s head snapped to the side, his eye sockets wide in disbelief.

“Oh my god.” Shock was clear in my voice.

Never did I expect such a dumb plan of attack to work on an experienced monster like him but the vibration that rattled through my fist was all the proof needed to let me know that I did just punch a boss monster in the face.

The wendigo turned his head back at me; his now darkened eye sockets gave off such murderous intent that I felt as if he was gonna erase me on the spot.. At that moment I knew that the pain I dealt him was gonna be returned tenfold.

“You have some speed little ghost I’ll give you that. **But you're absolutely fucked now**.”

A sudden burst of pain filled my chest and darkness flashed into my vision as if I only blinked. At first I didn’t realize what happened until I looked to see myself embedded into the magic barriers that were put over the steel walls.

“He hit me? I didn’t even see him move…”

Groaning in pain I pry myself off the barrier and fall onto the floor. The feeling of being yanked back in the air by my neck made me yelp. I flailed desperately trying to get out of the bony hands of my kidnapper only to be tossed into the middle of the room like a bean bag.

“At least make this fun!” I hear him shout before a hoof collides into my side causing me to slide across the ground.

I screeched in pain as the friction from the barrier on the floor felt like the equivalent of sliding on rough sandpaper without a shirt. Stopping short of the wall I reached behind my back out of reflex to check how bad the wound was. When all I felt was it getting agitated at my touch I yanked my hand back hissing from the burns. Since I didn’t have physical skin I would have thought I would be immune to floor burns. Apparently NOT WHEN MAGIC IS A THING!

The fast approaching sound of hoofs was all the warning I could get that he was coming. Out of pure instinct I rolled out of the way as his hoof stamps down cracking the floor I was once laying on.

“Ok...ok I can still make something happen on the fly. I stand up quickly trying to find something I can use against him. Alright there’s a- OH SHIT!”

I barely duck under the wendigo’s quick grab attempt and roll under his legs to get behind him. Unfortunately he was much more ready for it then Asriel was and hopped out of reach.

“I’ve already seen that trick done with much more finesse.” He said unimpressed.

Of course he has. He’s probably fought against human soldiers with much more grace and strength than me but how else do I stall for time? Dodging isn’t really effective because he has me in an enclosed environment and I do little damage against him with just my hands alone...I’ll have to talk to make time.

“Sorry if I’m a bit disappointing to you but my type of forte is in swords not fist fights.” Please just humor me with some banter. It should buy me at least a moment or two.

“A human in this time period who studies the sword?”

Yes, his curiosity peaked out! Now what to do...

“Yea I’m pretty decent at it. If I had it I can guarantee that sucker punch would have been the least of your concern.” I take a quick glance behind me noticing the glass table from before.  
I slowly back off towards it as he approaches.

“Really now? Well as much as I would love to indulge in your empty threats little ghost. I’m a monster who prefers guns. I don’t carry swords around me like some white knight so you’re fat out of luck.” He replies with feigned sympathy.

I knew I wouldn’t win against him with a sword either but I don’t plan to win that way rather a last resort trick probably as old as man itself.

I grinned up at him confidently.

“I wouldn’t be so sure buddy. Lady Luck does have a thing for me so I doubt she would leave me now.”

My fist propelled upwards towards his skull again...only to get caught in his palm.

“Was that the plan you really came up with while you were stalling?”

My grin never left my face. His attitude was going to get reprimanded REAL quick and in a way that he won’t forget.

“That was the first part. You're wide open by the way.”

“What?”

In a fight it is considered a cowardly move among the male population to do what I am about to do. But seeing as he was bigger, stronger, faster and more experienced than me I could care less right now. I kicked him as HARD as I could between his legs. The reaction was instant, his body jolted as if he was just struck by a bolt of lightning before he screamed out in pure agony.

Forgetting to keep his grip on me he drops me to hunch over and catch his breath. Seeing this opportunity I go to walk behind him baffled how a being like him was literally brought to his knees in such a comical way. It’s amazing how the tables can turn in just one cheap trick.

“I must have been a plastic surgeon in my past life cause I just made you a girl.” I snarked

“Fuck...you.” He breathlessly replies.

While he was hunched I shoved him towards the glass table. He quickly uses his hands to catch himself from falling on the table once again leaving him defenseless. I couldn’t afford to let him recover so I raised my fist for the finishing blow.

*CRACK*

Another well placed right hook dropped his face into the glass table. The impact made it shatter and the hunter was completely splayed out on the floor. The whole room was quiet now as I hoped to god he would not get up.

…

“So you are one.”

I jumped not expecting him to be conscious enough to talk after I made him face plant into a table but he still didn’t move.

He turns his head to look at me, making me flinch and walk backwards to the otherside of the room.

“Your magic, you used it. You’re a mage.” His murderous intent shifted to one of awe. “A mage here in the modern century.”

He laughs heartily, completely puzzling me “So you’re much more dangerous then I give credit for little ghost. I’m glad.”

…?

“Why do you seem genuinely happy to be beaten like this and what magic are you talking about? I don’t even know how to use my magic.” I ask.

He lets out a sigh “Did you not hear me the first time? If a demon was to encounter you then you would be devoured if you were weak. You’re...nice, not pure but nice in a way that would make you seem like easy prey to the true monsters on this planet.”

“True monsters?”

He sits up. Out of reflex I almost called out for Drakaina’s help thinking that he was going to murder me.

“Relax I’ve seen that you can somewhat take care of yourself so I see no point in fighting you anymore.”

…!

“You were holding back weren’t you? To test me?” I accused him

“Always have been. My intention was to push you to your absolute limit to see if you could handle yourself. Had you failed I would have to force you to pass on to the afterlife be it reincarnation, heaven, hell or whatever it is that you human’s believe lest you end up being used as a source of power for the demons.”

There was no sarcasm and everything he said sounded so genuine but I couldn’t find it in myself to fully trust him after he assaulted me.

“As far as I saw there was not another soul out here but me. What demons are you talking about?”

He chuckles “You have me to thank for that.”

My brow raised “You’re telling me that you alone are making Ebbot town a ghostless town?”

“It wasn’t easy teaching them to fear me was...difficult especially for the demons.” He goes quiet thinking for a moment before continuing “Demons aren’t just those red assholes with horns you all make up...no they can appear to be normal people. Although they are natural deceivers some even figuring out how to change forms they show their true colors eventually through pure hatred.”

His eye sockets get a distant look “I saw one once a long time ago. She appeared to be a child but I couldn’t have been further from the truth. I still remember her face...rosey cheeks, a smile that gave me chills, brown short hair and their eyes... red as blood.”

A bad feeling crept up in me as he spoke. What could scare even a monster who has seen war?

“I observed for a while. She seemed confused as to where she was and to be honest I almost wanted to help. That was almost the worst mistake I made. Fortunately for me someone else thought the same thing. Another human spirit came to assist her but before I knew it she cut him down on the spot with a knife. No hesitation, no mercy whatsoever and worst of all she did it with a smile on her face.”

I felt a shiver go down my back.

“I watched as she took the soul of the individual and broke it with her own hands. I didn’t get involved though seeing as back then I still had a sore spot for humanity. But she took it to another level. Destroying every human soul with the efficiency of a machine. I don’t know how much LEVEL OF VIOLENCE she gained but I can only imagine that she gained so much that even I would be only a minor annoyance to her at my best.”

A kid did all of that?

“Did you hear a name?”

He shakes his head “No and to be honest I don’t think I even want to know such a demon's name.”

“What did she do after?” I asked.

“After slaughtering human souls for weeks upon weeks she just disappeared without a trace.”

“Gone just like that?”

He nods “Do you see now as to why I do what I do? To prevent another repeat of genocide I have to be vigilent and never take someone’s appearance at face value. So I’m sorry if I come off as cruel but I do what must be done for the betterment of everyone.”

…

“The names Samuel or Sam.”

The wendigo looks at me, seeming surprised for a moment before composing himself “Names are for friends.” He states.

….Just give him a moment…

…  
“Mine is Holter or Hunter if you want to be simple. Don’t get the wrong idea this doesn’t make us friends.”  
“He so wants to be friends…” I mutter to myself.

Bonus:

“When did I use my magic?” I asked

“You actually didn’t notice?”

I stared at him with a completely flat look.

“You’re actually not messing with me...it was during the punch at the beginning and when you hit me through the table.” Wow he’s surprisingly humble about his loss. “Asshole…”

Nevermind he is a salty bitch.

“You’re speed and power shot up to an unnatural level at random intervals in the fight.”

Wait...random speed burst and power spikes? Didn’t Asriel say something similar meaning...son of a bitch. I had unlocked my magic on the first sparring match with him but no one noticed!?

“Drakaina how did you not notice!?”

 _“I’m literally jailed in a different dimension that was meant to block my power so sorry if I can’t detect everything Sam! **Go and yell at Asriel about it!”**_ Her voice was louder than usual marking her own frustrations.

“Noted! Also sorry, I’m just mad that I could have started my soul magic training sooner and the stress that it was causing me wasn’t pleasant..” I gently apologize.

 _“...You are forgiven.”_ Her voice lowering to the same gentle tone I was used to.

The sound of snapping fingers reminded that the wendigo was still there and he was somehow standing...oh.

“How did you recover so fast!?”

He reaches into his black robes and pulls out a piece of candy. “Monster candy. It has a bit of magic fused in it that can fill a monster and heal them.”

…

“You want one?” He asks

“Can ghosts eat it?”

“Yea.”

“Do you have a grape flavored one?”

“Yea?”

“Give me the grape flavored one.”

He throws a candy at me and I fumble with it a moment before unwrapping it.

“If this kills me something huge will punch you in the dick.” I warned the wendigo.

“Yea sure.” He says appearing to brush off my threat. Although the crossing of his legs did show that he took it seriously.

I pop the candy in my mouth and a tsunami of artificial grape flavoring crashes in my mouth. The feeling of my wounds begin to soothe giving the best feeling I have had in awhile.

The wrapper drops out of my hand “I can taste this…”

I feel tears form in my eyes. ”I can taste this!”

“Are you ok?” I hear Holter ask with legitimate concern.

I let out a watery laugh “I’m better than ok. This is the third best thing that has happened to me these past few months!”

“Alright I’m locking up any monster food and candy I have in this place.”

“Nooo!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished this chapter today. While I did say I was pre writing other chapters I had to delete all of them cause I saw a lot of inconsistencies in them. It was painful but I think I made the right call. I would rather delete and rewrite then deliver garbage on a plastic plate. In the meantime I will be taking a small break while I recover from the mental exhaustion of rewriting a chapter at least five times.


	18. Forgive And Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can we just form a Dungeon and Dragon's party in the quest to get back my body? -Sam The Poet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this was a lot harder than it looked I promise you.

Sam’s POV:

After telling the story of what happened between Holter and I, there was complete silence. I turn to glance at Asriel expecting a response after I literally just said that my own kidnapper wasn’t such a bad guy and I had my magic unlocked from the start of our first sparring match.

I was even getting ready to yell at him. Not like an angry yell but more of a playful banter type of yelling for being so blind. What I got instead wiped any sort of humor I had in me. His eyes were wide open in silent horror, his arms that were once gently wrapped on my neck were now squeezed enough to make me feel a bit of discomfort and I could feel him shaking. 

“Asriel?” 

The only response that I got was a whisper. A whisper not meant for me but as if he was rephrasing it and unsure that what he was saying was real.

“He saw her…” 

A cold feeling pitted itself in my chest. That was the moment I realized what was wrong. 

“Asriel do you know who Holter is talking about?”

“...I..she was my…” He pauses then shakes his head as if what he was saying was gonna be complete nonsense.

“I can’t say her name for the betterment of everyone.”

“Why?” 

He took a second to look around as if trying to spot someone. 

“If I speak about her in this place she might hear me.” 

His response brought me an irrational sense of paranoia and I couldn’t help but look around myself for the thing that Asriel spoke of. Fortunately all I saw were stone walls and stairs, not some demon with a creepy smile hiding just out of our peripherals.  
Even so the feeling that I narrowly avoided the eyes of something truly horrific lingered.   
I was skeptical when Holter told his story but seeing Asriel’s reaction to it… well he doesn’t seem like the type to fool around with stuff like this so I took his word for it.

“You still didn’t explain how you got out.” He reminds me.

It doesn’t take a genius to see the attempt to change subjects so I go along with it. I decide to keep it short though seeing as we are near the top of the stairs.

“Well it wasn’t exactly hard thanks to Drakaina navigating me throughout the mini labyrinth he built down there.”

“If that was the case why did it take you so long?”

That was a reasonable question. “Well after my wounds healed the entire area shook from what felt like an explosion. I’m going to guess that was you?” I ask.

He nods his head. “The trap door to enter was heavily reinforced so going in gently wasn’t an option.”

God I’m so glad that I was able to get on his goodside. I was at least 80 feet or so underground and I still felt the vibration! 

“Well it got Holter’s attention so he rushed out and locked the vault door behind him. Shortly after he left I had Drakaina check it out and when we found out it was you he was already halfway up.” 

I still can’t believe how fast he could run when he wants to. I mean hypothetically if Holter chased me up those steps and I had a ten story lead only to hear the sound of heavy hoof steps rapidly getting louder to warn me he was going to catch up, I would need a new change of pants.

Ugh just thinking of a scenario like that is just nightmare fuel. I shake off the thought and continue climbing up the last few flights of stairs.

“So seeing as I was stuck, there was only one option that I still had.”

“The void.” Asriel finishes for me.

“Yup but there was another problem. The more powerful form that I used the first time drains way too much energy for me to escape, at least until I learn to control the void to some extent without Drakaina’s help.” 

“Wait more powerful form?” Confusion clear in Asriel’s voice.

“Yeah remember when I explained how we got out the void that I used a different form?” I say attempting to jog his memory.

…

He snaps his fingers “Right I nearly forgot. I never saw the full form before. The only bit I was able to catch was your eyes changing, like what you're doing now.”

Oh yeah they glow slightly in the dark, hopefully that won’t come to bite me in the ass in case of a scenario where I need to hide. Whatever back on topic.

“What had to be done in order for me to get a safer change was all on Drakaina. She basically had to thread the needle with how much power she could give me while in a different dimension that syphons her own connection to the void.” I explain

The doorway I assume Asriel came in creeps into my view seeming to be completely smashed to pieces. Eager to leave my pace picks up slightly.

“To somehow manage to still do all that under those conditions she had to focus carefully lest I end up getting nothing or just running out of time before I can make it to you.” 

“Thanks for that by the way.” I tell her.

“Your compliments are very flattering. Are you trying to get more out of me?” She jokes.

“Focus please.” 

“Awww…”

I feel Asriel shift to loosen his grip on me “What benefits does it come with? Well I mean besides a boost in strength...or is that your RED soul’s magic?”

My face contorts in bewilderment “Wait, that's actually a good question...is it both?” 

“It’s both.” She answers

“She says it’s both.” 

“Ah that’s actually awesome that both can actually combine. I can see a lot of potential with that!”

His optimism is endearing but I had to lay the fact that I didn’t have much with this small change.

“So far the only thing I have in this state is night vision and-”

“Hey…”

Asriel inhales sharply and I nearly jump out of my non-existent skin. In the hallway leaned against the wall was Holter...he looks awful to say the least. His cloak was partially burnt, his skull was cracked and to top it off he looked ready to drop onto the floor. But regardless of his condition there was an explanation he owed me.

“Holter…” My voice is stern with anger. “While I understand what happened between us. I need a good explanation as to why I shouldn't beat your ass for-.”

“Wait.” I glance back at Asriel. Despite his exhaustion earlier he seemed to give a strong aura that demanded attention and respect.

“Holter you know now that I am telling the truth. I am not a demon especially not the one you saw all those years ago.”

Holter looks at us. His red eye lights dimmed seeming to give off a sorrow filled look. 

“So it seems but...how? How is a monster who has died able to retain a soul?”

Asriel shakily inhaled “The demon that you told Sam about was once merged with me.”

“WHAT!?”  
“WHAT!?”

Both Holter and I were in disbelief at this new info Asriel brought to the table out of completely nowhere.

“Her soul merged with yours? But how could you have come into contact with someone like that?”

I had to agree with Holter, how the hell did Asriel manage to capture the soul of someone who was apparently so dangerous.

“She’s my sister.”

I was completely outraged at this. “Excuse me but what the hell!? Your sister is a psychopathic force of nature!?”

He winces at my tone but continues on “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner Samuel but this was very personal to me and it wasn’t relevant at the time.”

My hands rub at my temples from the stress but I breathe out to calm down. “That’s important stuff that you’ve been hiding dude but...I understand why you wouldn’t want to share. However we need to talk about this in private later. Ok?”

“Ok.”

Holter was scratching his antlers seeming to be in deep thought.

“A human that’s a relative to a monster...I’ve only heard of this from rumors but I was never sure if that was real or not. But if it is, that must mean that you’re the son of the Dreemurr’s.”

The wendigo turns around and sluggishly begins to walk away. 

“Wait, where are you going?” I jog over to catch up.

“Out, aren’t you tired of being in a dark bunker or does the power you hid from me come with night vision?” I couldn’t tell if he meant that to be a rhetorical question but me being me I just answered anyway.

“Actually yeah you hit the nail on that one but it’s kinda exhausting.” 

He sighs and waves me over to a hatch that was completely smashed open. There was a metal ladder but it was partially melted by the looks of things. “Hurry your ass up so we can get this situation sorted and we can all go to bed.” 

He jumps up with a grunt.

“To fucking tired for this.” I hear him mutter unhappily.

I get below the opening and float up to get blasted by a bit of sunlight peeking from the cracks in whatever wooden structure we were in. Judging from the tools and how small this was I can say it was a shed. Oh and that’s a door just broken in half.

Holter walks through the broken door entrance before sitting on the grass out front.

“Was it necessary to kick down the door?” I hear him ask.

Asriel lets out a tired chuckle but doesn’t respond. I walk behind him but don’t sit. He didn’t seem to mind though. 

“So...judging from how you two interact with one another you’re somewhat comfortable with each other's presence. The prince of monsters and a human with unusual magic abilities sticking together is not something you encounter by coincidence.”

He glances back at us “Something big is going on and I need to know what it is.”

My hands clench and unclench nervously.

“Are you sure? Cause if I tell you, you’ll be caught up in business that can get you killed.” I warn.

The wendigo snorts “Little ghost I’ve got nothing better to do. I would rather die in a battle than die bored on a coach.”

I turn my head at Asriel still unsure if we should share the events that have and could transpire.

He nods his head to let me know that I had permission. “Having someone in a physical body can be really helpful for us. Also we are kinda short on friends right now so more is always welcome.”

“Goodpoint.”

I take a moment to get my thoughts together. “Alright Holter but once I tell you. We will need your help.”

“Fine. I owe the prince my life anyway for sparing me and for teaching me a couple tricks.” A creepy grin appeared on his face for a moment before vanishing. Something tells me that he only wants to know just because he wants to shoot something.

“Alright...get comfortable cause this will be something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, the reason Asriel could see in the stairs even though it's practically pitch black is because goats have decent night vision. No I'm serious I looked this up on google and planned around that.


	19. Iudex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guilty actions of your past is the hardest to open up about do to the fear of being abandoned and hated.

I made sure to tell Holter everything that happened these past few weeks excluding a few embarrassing mishaps or personal stuff. Asriel helped by filling out any smaller details that I forgot or answered questions when the Wendigo seemed to be confused or curious. When I mentioned about Drakaina’s existence he accepted it surprisingly quickly.

“I've heard weirder stuff from humans and monsters that turned out to be true. A powerful entity being a party member of you two doesn’t seem completely ridiculous.” He told me.

When we wrapped up our story he took a moment to come to terms of what was bound to happen now that he was technically involved in our small group. 

“Lackeys of a monster forgotten? Made from nothingness? Hmm...do you know what this Gaster looks like so that I can shoot him on sight?”

“No but I think Asriel does…” I glanced over to see his head hanging loosely to the side. “You awake buddy?”

He twitches awake, “Huh...whaazat?” 

Oh that’s a feeling of sleepiness that I can relate to on a spiritual level, no pun intended.

“Actually just go back to sleep we can get him that description another time.” 

It’s better he describes a monster’s appearance when not delirious from exhaustion.

He leans into my back “Mmmph…” A sleep deprived sign of agreement.

“You know what? The kids got the right idea I’ll probably forget from lack of sleep. You can expect me to find you at a later date.”

“Do you even know where we hide out?”

Holter smirks as if he heard something funny “Little ghost I’m a hunter. I’ll find you when I want to.”

“Right...” Like that’s not creepy or anything.

My feet lift off the ground for the flight back to our hideout. As comfortable as Holter’s place looks it would be awkward to sleep in his place after we trashed it. Also he did just assault us so even if he offered it would be a no.

I look back one last time where he was sitting only to find he was already gone.   
“We’re heading back Asriel.”

No response was given indicating that he was already back to sleep so I beeline it for the cave.

Getting him to open up about the important parts of his past always ended with him just evading the question or taking the subject elsewhere. Now an opportunity to fill his half story presents itself. If I can get him to talk about what’s haunting him maybe it’ll help ease his mind.

The flight back was peaceful. Thank god for that cause I was not in the mood to deal with anything at the moment. Walking through the cave entrance I set Asriel down into a more dark area so that the sun wouldn’t bother him. I also made sure to keep myself at a reasonable distance when I went to lay down not wanting another awkward clinging scenario. 

Although is it wrong to be tempted to let him? His warm aura and fluffiness was so comfortable that I was willing to throw away some dignity for that feeling. It’s like having a walking talking thermal blanket around you. Honestly the only thing that’s making me think so hard about it was that he’s probably unaware that he does that.

His sister was lucky to ever have this.

…

Sister...he has a sister. A human one at that who was wandering around destroying souls. From what I’ve heard those two were fused once. I remember Drakaina telling me that a human and monster soul can’t be split without killing the members involved. What confuses me is how he could die with a RED soul fused in him. 

He’s kind but doesn’t seem like the type to take a beating laying down.

…

Or maybe that’s how he is now. There are alot of quirks about him that I noticed in the void. One was that he was going out of his way to help or make me happy despite the fact that he was hurting himself. It was a hint that at one point in his life he could have been someone who was selfless and loyal to a fault even if he was being used as a doormat or discarded afterwards at the slightest disagreement.

A growl rumbled in my chest at the idea of others abusing his personality for their own benefit. It didn’t seem outlandish either which made it worse. This sister of his gave me bad vibes but I can’t really put a verdict of knowing her personality by a few educational guesses from Asriel’s personality. One thing is for sure though, those who come to Mount Ebbott only wish to disappear so she came here for a very bad reason. She was either running from something or just didn’t believe that life was worth living and a cruel life usually leads to a cruel person but…  
My eyes wander over Asriel’s sleeping form.

“There are a few flowers that grow through cement even against all odds.” I whisper to myself.

Shutting my eyes I thought over the theory. While it sounded plausible I can only be sure if I can get him to tell me what happened. It was obvious that something went wrong between the two which is why he’s afraid to speak about it.

Asriel thinks he has me fooled with the “I’m perfectly fine” mask he wears. That he can handle whatever problems he has on his own but I know better. Usually the most broken of people are the most silent about themselves and it’s always the kind ones that get the worst treatment in life.

The fact is he is a worry wart that tries not to be clingy for the sake of his friend. He was prideful and a bit of a showoff but only because he worries that I would get bored of him. Hah, bored of him? Never in a million years would that happen. Asriel’s insecurities were well hidden from me but he couldn’t hide it forever. 

There was much I knew about him from the time we spent together but also so much that I didn’t know. But I can still say with confidence that our bond was stronger ironically thanks to Gaster and Holter. They proved that I could trust my soul with his and his with mine. All I need him to do is talk to me and let his burdens be shared before they break him.

…What is with me right now? Here I am worrying about his personal problems like an overprotective brother. Is this even normal behavior to have for someone you met in an abyss?  
Maybe not...then again what’s normal about us anyway? With this in mind I felt myself lull to sleep.

Asriel’s POV:

Staring out into the general direction of the barrier my mind began to wander. A month has passed since we last left Holter’s home. A month has passed since discovering that she was still out there somewhere. Her soul fragment that was split off inside me was dull but not faded. 

Chara...you’re sleeping close by I can feel it but when will you wake up? I glance over behind me seeing Sam sitting in the middle of the training grounds amongst the colorful dead leaves that fell and were guided here amongst the wind.

His eyes closed and his face scrunched up in concentration, I could feel the magic flowing around him. When I had recovered, magic training had become our primary focus so that he could learn to use it on an instinctual level. He was learning quickly but I imagine that in sparring that would change. 

A heavy feeling in my soul suddenly made itself known. I knew this feeling well...guilt. My gaze snapped away from Sam trying to focus on the colorful leaves that littered the mountain. Still the feeling of guilt would not leave and I knew why. The “talk” we were supposed to have a month ago was constantly pushed back. It was an explanation that I owed him because he was working hard to get us both a new life. A new life that can be ruined in mere moments. If Chara awoke to discover I made a new human friend in her absence she would kill him first out of spite. However talking about it is never simple.

Whenever I tried to speak up I would freeze with the words stuck on my tongue. Sam was always patient every time but I could see the hurt in his eyes whenever it happened. He believed that I didn’t trust him enough to talk. It wasn’t necessarily that I didn’t trust him but the fear of him resenting me for agreeing to poison my own sister and nearly working with her to slaughter humans regardless if they were good people. 

Would he look at me the same way after learning the truth? Or would he only look down in disgust of my mistakes? How can I be so afraid of the opinion of one human despite them hardly having any sort of power over me?

*Crunch*

My ears twitched at the sound of dead leaves being crushed somewhere closeby. I tilted my head in the direction I heard the sound to get a clearer idea as to who was approaching. The clomping of hooves gave me an idea that either a horse just seemed to want to make a casual climb or…

“Holter.”

“Your majesty.”

I ignore the formal title knowing he only wanted to poke at me for a reaction. 

“Thank you for making your approach noticeable. Neither of us take well to being snuck up on.”

He walks next to me and looks out at Sam seeming intrigued.

“What’s his record time for holding out?”

“Six minutes and it’s increasing.”

He smirks, “Not bad for a human but he seems to be wasting a lot of reserves.”

“That’s why we’ve been prioritizing his lessons in control. His reserves are bigger than the average adult monster so it was a bit overwhelming on his first several exercises.”

“Well that shouldn’t be surprising. Humans naturally have stronger souls even without a special condition like his.”

We observed for a minute more in silence. With the leaves and the quiet humm of Sam’s magic dancing in the air there was a sense of tranquility. Both monsters knew though that this peace was only the quiet before the inevitable storm. All they could do is prepare the best they can before it arrives.

“So have you finally come here for the info on Gaster?” I asked

“Yes and…to help teach him and you.” 

I turn to look at Holter a bit surprised at this.

“Teach? What can you offer?”

“Advance stealth and tracking is all I’ll give for now. If he can prove that he’s worth my time and he gets his body back I'll consider survival basics...maybe throw in marksmanship too.”

“What do you gain from this?”

Holter crosses his arms “Asking all the right questions. I guess those few years of watching your mom and dad has taught you well.”

“Get to the point.” I snapped not in the mood to hear anything about my parents.

The hunter disregards my snappy attitude and continues on.

“It’s been a long time since I last had a good hunt. However if what you said is true and Gaster’s lackey is as tough as you say then we cannot afford any weak chains.”

His eyelights blackout “If something happens to us he will not be able to take care of himself. Luck alone will not always be there to save him either.”

Is that worry I hear? A devilish grin peaks out of my muzzle. A feeling of mischief for his insensitivity brewed in me.

“You didn’t answer the question. What do YOU have to gain from this?”

Holter cringes realizing that I caught him red handed “......I’m not gonna say it.”

I knew what he wanted but I wanted to hear him say it. In some ways he’s just like us, an outcast with no one to interact with because of unfair circumstances. How else could he manage to not be found out by the humans yet? Certainly by not being a social butterfly.  
So now an opportunity shows itself for him and he can’t resist.

He opens his mouth to speak. *Boom*

A mildly strong burst of red magic lit up the top of the mountain blowing us back slightly. Looks like Sam lost control...again.

Before I can call out to Sam to check if he was fine he gives a thumbs up. “I’m good!”  
A relieved breath is heaved from me. Monsters have this happen occasionally when their magic is highly unstable. I didn’t know as to what it would do to humans so the first time it happened I panicked thinking he blew himself up with his own power. 

While he’s only slightly disoriented and slightly singed it worries me that he won’t be there anymore one of these days if he doesn’t learn to control himself soon. 

He faces towards us.

“Oh hey Holter...” 

At first he doesn't fully acknowledge the hunter’s presence but after a few seconds he double takes.

“Holter?” 

The wendigo waves his hand awkwardly at Sam which prompts him to get up and join our conversation. You got lucky this time hunter.

“How long were you there?” Sam wonders.

“Long enough to know you still have to practice controlling your power.”

Sam shrinks in embarrassment “I know and I’m getting there.”

“Hmph well get there faster. None of us know how much longer we have before you lose the luxury of us teaching you in a controlled environment.” The hunter reminds him.

“I know and...” He pauses “Us?”

Holter’s eye sockets squinted in amusement.

“Yes...us. He will be joining in on teaching some things in his field of expertise and I’ll be joining in his lessons..” I explain

“But before that I want that description of Gaster.” Holter cuts in.

They both turn to me in anticipation for the description of the mad doctor. 

“Very well. His species of monster would be a good starting point.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What makes this story worth reading? That's a question I would like to see answered just of curiosity. I'm an amateur writer after all so what is it that compels you to continue reading? There are thousands of stories out there to choose but you pick this one? I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Thank you all for getting me past 420 hits it means a lot when people actually like my writing. Also remember to wash your hands and wear a mask as well unless you want to have a early trip to the void...OH and Happy Halloween.


	20. It Shadows Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our edgy hunter really enjoys teaching... a bit to much actually.

Sam’s POV:

Gotta get better…

The terrifying sound of something whistling from behind me causes me to throw myself down to the ground. Not a second later a crossbow bolt embeds itself into the snow in front of me. My teeth were now grit in frustration and fear knowing that I could have just moved to the left or right to save time but in my panic I let instincts take over.

Gotta get faster…

I scramble up off the ground knowing my pursuer was going to be capitalizing on that dive by crossing the distance for a better shot. I run trying to lose him by weaving or phasing through trees and shrubbery. But no matter how hard I tried, the distant pound of hooves crunching snow gained volume.

Gotta get stronger…

The sound of hooves disappears suddenly catching my attention. I turn my head back only to see a tall black figure descend like a tiger in the moonlight. Everything spins as we tumble across the white blanket of snow. The heavy weight of my hunter plops on top of my chest nearly crushing me. I punch, kick and wiggle as hard as I could to fight back but my efforts were all in vain as he easily overpowers me.

A dark chuckle emanates from him as he preps another crossbow bolt for the finishing shot. There’s nothing I can do now but get in some final words before this loss.

“You know that you’ll lose someday! It’s only a matter of time.” I proclaim.

“Maybe but as of now...” He finishes loading the bolt in. “You’re still only prey for me.”

The hunter points the crossbow at my face.

“Game over little ghost.”

He pulls the trigger and I flinch as the bolt embeds next to my head. 

“Do you have to be this terrifying everytime you play your extreme version of manhunt?” Asriel scolds as he floats down from the dark sky.

The weight on my chest lifts off me allowing a sigh of frustration and exhaustion to flow out.

“Not used to such a method of fighting prince? Well that’s too bad, because if the enemy is smart they will use whatever means necessary to win.” 

Asriel grunts in annoyance seemingly wanting to argue but swiftly swallows his words. We all know that Holter is right. When something is at stake no one is above playing dirty if it gives results. 

I can’t lie, Holter’s way of teaching is a bit cruel but effective at motivating improvement. The crossbow bolts he shoots don’t kill but paralyze someone when it hits its target. It was also Asriel’s bane of existence right now because he was the one who would keep getting the receiving end of the bolt first.

He’s a good fighter at close to mid ranges but as I found out along with Holter it’s useless when he can’t see his target before he gets dropped. It was comical the first few times seeing him lock up and fall over like a tree but after seeing his frustrations from struggling I kinda felt bad.

Every hunt he was shot first even when he shrank down to decrease his odds of being hit or seen. It really felt like Holter was just out to get him on purpose to piss him off. But after watching how he handled trying to camouflage I can see why.

His hiding was terrible. While he took my advice on staying on elevated ground it was for naught since the trees had shed their leaves completely so he was still out in the open. The only way Holter wouldn’t see him is if he didn’t look up. Unfortunately for Asriel he does that quite a lot, hell he even jumps from tree to tree like a damn ninja.

Guess hiding from a professional hunter is a lot different than hiding from your own family. Still it‘s oddly refreshing seeing him struggle with something. Not that I want to see him fail of course but I just want to use this chance to learn with him and maybe give tips of my own. Like two best friends in school together. Except we’re not here to learn math, we’re here to learn on how to kick some ass.

Hmm...actually me and Asriel have a decent understanding of each other's fighting styles. I wonder if we can make a coordinated double team attack with a bit of practice. I mean we’ve only been sparring against each other so why not try to use Holter as a guinea pig for this to see if it’ll work.

My soul glows in anticipation at the thought of working together like two well oiled cogs in a machine.

“What’s got you hyped up little ghost?” Holter asks.

I blink realizing that my magic drew both of their attention to me.

“Sorry but I just realized something and wanted to try it later.”

“And that would be?”

“Well Asriel and I never actually fought together as a team.”

Asriel raises his finger but pauses halfway before seeming to think hard for a moment. 

“We didn’t…?” He gasps seeming to realize that it was true. “Oh stars you’re right we never did!”

I rush over to him, excitement clear in my voice “Are you thinking what I’m thinking!?”

“You want to make a cool team attack with me?”

I nod “Absoul-fucking-tly!”

He raises a hand with a grin and I jump up giving the best high five the after life has ever seen.

“Let’s do this!”

Before we began throwing in ideas I quickly noticed Holter standing there seeming to be a bit out of place.

“Holter. Come on you’re going to be our test dummy for when we can actually think up something.”

He sighs seeming to accept his fate. “How can you be dangerous when you act like children?”

“You act like an edgy teen Holter so don’t think you’re free of your flaws.” I retort

He crosses his arms “Whatever.”

“There’s my point proven now, come on!”

I whisper and exchange ideas with Asriel. The plan here was to get an attack that we both can agree on and it has to be practical. Holter stood there seeming to be on his own sense of guard duty as we spoke but I could tell he was just trying to listen in and Drakaina would also pop in some ideas liking the thought of us making a team based attack.

This went on for at least thirty minutes before we finally came to a concrete idea that could work. Asriel and I turned to look at Holter.

“We have an idea.”

Holter tilts his head “Really now? Care to share?”

Asriel shakes his head “I’m afraid not.”

“We wouldn’t want to give you an idea as to how to counter it until we try.” I explain

“But we can guarantee that it’ll hurt.” Asriel promises.

“I just need to maintain the boost of speed and power that my RED soul gives first before we can actually practice it.”

Holter looked annoyed “If you don’t have any special attack to test on me, why am I here!?”

I smile nervously “Because we love you?”

For a moment a look of anger filled his eye sockets before it flattened into an uncaring look.

“I’m going home. I’ll be back tomorrow and you should expect me to bring surprises of my own next hunt.” He promises darkly.

“Looking forward to it.”

“We’ll see if I can change that…” With that ominous said he holsters his crossbow and walks off into the darkness of the woods to return home. When he finally disappears from view I feel Asriel lean over me.

“Bets on what he has in store?”

“Seeing as he was a bit mad I’m willing to bet he’s going to use a gun next time... that or it’s traps.”

“Wonderful.” Asriel grumbled.

I brought up my items menu to see that it was two in the morning.

“So...sleep or fight for a bit?”

I feel him shift away before his saber stabs the grass in front of me.

“We’ll finish at three if you can last that long.” Asriel challenges.

I pick up the saber and point it at him. “I’ll be on par with the master soon enough.”

He points his long sword back at me “Soon? That’s surprisingly optimistic of you Sam.”

We lunge at one another and the sound of metal against metal reverberates in the darkness. The rush that I was beginning to get acquainted with powers through me. No words were spoken in this fight, only the desire to improve and best one another. I grunted as I blocked the heavy weight of an overhead strike.

I push back using my RED soul’s power catching Asriel off guard from the spur of strength. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover I went on the offensive by stabbing forward. For a moment I thought I had him until he pulled a “me” and dropped onto the ground making me overshoot. 

“Whoa,WHOA STOP!” I cried out

I had not gotten used to my boosted speed so I flailed around trying to right myself. Come on...COME ON STOP! My soul projected body lurches forward from momentum as I come to a halt.

“Oh man thank god I don’t have a stomach or that would have made me puke.”

The sound of strong wind roaring makes me blink and look down.

My jaw gaped “Oh holy shit!” 

The lights from Ebott City were barely visible from being blocked by clouds. I didn’t just overshoot by a smidge I almost rocketed myself out into space! My eyes then narrowed as I saw a light approach me at high speed along.

Out of instinct I flew to the side being sure to be careful as to control my speed this time. The light stopped to reveal Asriel looking absolutely flabbergasted.

“Sam!?” He calls out through the wind

“Yeah!?”

“What was that!?”

“Uhhhh...I have no idea!?” 

He puts his hand to his face before dragging them down in an exaggerated show of how stressed out he was.

“We just started Sam! Can you not do that!?”

“Sorry, just let me get readjusted!”

I feel kinda bad for the varying amounts of metaphorical heart attacks I have given him but most times these things aren’t something that are planned for. I’ve already managed some decent control with it but...how can I word this?

Ah, I’ve got it! It’s kinda like practicing a combo in a fighting game with a bot. The environment is perfectly calm and there is no interference allowing for perfectly rational control and timing, but as soon as you put it to the test in an actual match you sort of panic when things get intense causing you to lose that sense of timing and control you practiced.

Does that make sense? Maybe, maybe not. I’ve just gotta reel it back in or I might burn myself out within the first five minutes. I take a deep breath in and breathe back out to calm myself. After doing this a few more times I could feel my power draw itself back in.

“Ok let’s try that again.”

I speed up towards Asriel, not as quick as before but still fast enough to get some difference in the fight.

Asriel notices this and grins before meeting my strike head on. The clouds close by dispersed from the force.

“That’s more like it!” He compliments.

I respond by pulling the saber back and slice at his torso. He bends backwards and handsprings kicking me in the jaw. The unexpected move sends me flying back but I catch myself much quicker ready to get back at him.

However he was quick to remind that it still wasn’t my turn as I saw a bunch of fireballs flying at me. Not bothering to think I weave my way through them using my extra speed to get me the edge I need. Even with it though I have a few close calls as he would aim at where I was going instead of where I was exactly making strafing much more difficult. 

I gasp as I feel the heat singe me slightly from near misses. As I dodge the last few I look down at him, seeing the city's lights glowing underneath. 

“That’s all?” I murmured 

As if reading my mind he points at me. “Look around you!”

“?”

….!

There are lights around me? No wait that’s the fireballs he just threw at me! This move...it looks almost like!

“It’s over!”

He crosses his arm and every fireball comes flying back at me. Out of pure instinct I did the only thing I could think of to get out of this. I charge all of my Red soul’s energy to my core and let loose a roar that sounded like the beast that I became all those months ago.

The resounding sound let loose a red and black shockwave that blew back the attack along with Asriel who shouted out in surprise from the sheer volume and power that was emitted. I look down at my hands expecting my hands to be claws instead. But they still looked normal? So why do I hear growling and heavy breathing. I glanced behind me and to my shock I came to witness something shadowing over me.

It looked slightly over Asriel's height with horns that poked up like a U. It had four glowing white eyes that were narrowed at Asriel with two fangs hanging out the front of its mouth. There were also two big shoulder spikes protruding out of it that looked dangerously sharp. A tail designed like the one I had was sharpened and poiised behind it ready to strike at anything that got close.

It’s fist that were once clenched uncurled themselves revealing claws. It only had four fingers as well but one hand was huge enough to grab my entire head. It’s feet were also clawed and seemed to look like it could grab things like a hawk would when carrying away it’s prey.

Lastly it looks unnaturally dark. It was as if I was looking at a piece of the void. The only way I could see it in this darkness was because of the white outline and eyes it had. It almost looked like an anthropomorphic shadow dragon. Despite it’s appearance I felt an unnatural kinship with it as if it was with me all along.

Anyone else would have run but me I felt as if it was a part of me.

“It can’t be!” Drakaina seemed completely bewildered.

“You’ve summoned your shadow? Already!?”

“Shadow?” I wondered out loud.

It wrapped its arms around me protectively around me.

“This was not supposed to happen for a long time but I guess I have underestimated your powers as not just a RED soul but as an anomaly in general.”

“What are they?” I ask

“When the void combined in you leading to your transformation it altered your personality somewhat. You were more aggressive, serious, protective and terrifying. But when you reverted back to normal that void tucked itself away into your soul. It stayed there not to be awoken until you managed to control it.”

Drakaina laughs “But I’ve never seen one burst out on it’s own like that! But now that I think about it a SHADOW is a manifestation of you and the void. I am willing to bet it has some of your characteristics. The will to protect is definitely in there even if it’s not supposed to do anything without an order.”

She takes a moment to think “This actually is a massive help that you managed to get that power. However that means that you’re time before Gaster finds us out has just dropped dramatically. I would give another three years before he pursues us.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

I could feel Drakaina shaking her head “Remember Sam you must find your body and if Gaster presents himself as an obstacle it could delay you or even kill you. The time limit you have to return to Mount Ebbot with a body is August 15th, 2017.”

“What happens then?”

“Someone with a massive amount of determination will put this world in a time loop. You must be strong enough to stop it from destroying the timeline. Having a body will allow you to use more power without shattering your soul.” She explains.

I look at my shadow and it looks back at me. It’s eyes were filled with something I couldn’t describe. Joy? Curiosity?

“Are you me?”

It tilts its head then a new voice reverberates in my head that startles the crap out of me.

“We are whatever you wish us to be.”

It sounded deep but not gravely like Holter. Young like Asriel’s but a tad bit more aged. It sounded like a more handsome me. THIS IS BULLSHIT! Even my shadow can do a career on voice acting GOD WHY!?

Drakaina laughs at my suffering while my shadow looks at me in confusion.

“Sam!?” 

My shadows head snaps at Asriel’s direction making him flinch back.  
“Uhhh he doesn’t bite.”

My shadow then opens its mouth revealing even more sharp fangs.

“He doesn’t bite nice people!” I correct

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Sam's new void power, the "void entity.” Samuel’s summon is kinda based off of two things. A stand from Jojo and a VRchat model called "Dusk The Husk.” It prefers only to talk with their summoner and close friends to said summoner. It is hella strong with abilities comparable to Drakaina however no power especially one as strange as the void is gained without a price. As for a name for them well... I’m working on it. I’ve been scrolling through names for a while now.


	21. Sable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samuel and Asriel ask the void being some questions.

Chapter 21: Sable 

Asriel’s POV:

This creature, its energy is massive! How did Sam make such a thing spawn? Was it the RED soul magic mixing in with the void? The way it hovers behind Sam protectively...is it sentient or is Sam controlling its every move? My questioning comes to a halt when Sam starts floating down towards me with the creature following closely behind. 

Despite how it didn’t make any aggressive movement towards me or Sam I couldn’t help but tense up. Everything about it screamed danger and the urge to not draw my longsword was becoming more difficult as the gap between us closed. Most void creatures that I have seen were spawns of the mad doctor that were given the purpose to only cause me harm. Those many years of battle with them became nothing more than pure instinct to me and to see one so powerful approach me was making my claws twitch in preparation.

The only reason I had yet to attack is because Sam is between the two of us acting as a sort of barrier. He seems perfectly calm as well so I will put my faith in him that this thing will not try to harm us. After all he has done nothing yet to warrant distrust.

The void being peers at me seeming to loosen up the hard expression it had in its glowing eyes. 

“We understand that you are afraid of us. It is only natural.” 

I nearly swung out in instinct from the unexpected voice that echoed around my head.

“You talk?”

It leans in towards me making me float back a hair.

“Stop doing that you're scaring him even more.” Sam scolds.

It snorts audibly in amusement before leaning back still not breaking eye contact with me.

“Who are you?” I ask

“We are whoever our master desires us to be.” It answers cryptically

Sam makes a strange face “Master? Is that what I am to you?” He wonders.

“Does this offend you?” 

“No, but it’s kind of strange to be referred to like that. I mean you are stronger than me.”

It shakes his head disagreeing with the notion. 

“We were but a single piece in a dark ocean. Your power drew us in and compressed us into a singularity leading to my creation. You are stronger than one would realize but your potential isn’t fully released.”

Void given form...does that mean?

“Wait if you are void do you know about W.D. Gaster?”

It growls angrily but Sam puts a hand out to calm it.

“Such insolents from one being! Such audacity! He believes that he is meant to control us all. But the void cannot be controlled with such mere power! We were there before existence itself began and we will still be there when it ends. His delusions are irritating.”

“Do you know where he is?” I ask

“No…”

A brief bit of confusion passes between Sam and I.

“How do you not know? Don’t you live there?” Sam questions.

“When we came to serve you, we were cut off from our source. We will only be able to locate the insolent cur if you can return to the void itself and neither you or our master is ready yet.”

“Then we’ll prepare the best we can before he can locate us!” I declare.

“We know you will and are currently doing such work now. We do have our master’s memories or the few he has gathered so we are caught up.”

“That’s a bit invasive” I hear Sam mutter.

“Forgive us. We retain these memories automatically for we house ourselves in your soul.”

Sam sighs, seeming to understand “Alright what can you do?”

That actually is a good question. They are powerful but I want to see with my own eyes as to what it's capable of.

“Our master requires a demonstration? Very well…”

They bend down on all fours as if preparing to pounce. Only to be interrupted by the sound of...roaring? What actually is that? Sam seems to know what the roaring in the distance was as his eyes widened in recognition.

“Shit I think we made too much noise up here, those are military jets! We can't fight here or they could get caught up in it by accident!” 

“Jets?” 

I’ve tried to catch up with some of the tech humans use but I’ve never heard of a jet until now. However the word military was mixed in there so I can assume they're dangerous.

“They’re basically very fast aircraft with big ass guns. It’s no good sparring here if we have them patrolling around to check out any disturbances. God if they think foreign invaders were attacking with some experimental weapon this could get ugly.”

Both his shadow and I seem to agree before we all quickly descend down to Mountain Ebott to lay low for a bit. Still I can’t help but feel a tad of annoyance that we were interrupted right when we were going to get to the good stuff. Ah well, we can leave this for another day. They are just doing their jobs, they probably got word of something exploding in the sky from whoever sent them here. 

When we reach the cave we walk in silently and sit down getting ready to rest in preparation for Holter’s “lesson”. However right before I went to lay down I noticed that his shadow was just sitting at the entrance unmoving except for the occasional twitch of their sharp tail.

“Do you not need sleep?” I ask.

“No, we will keep you and our summoner safe from danger. When you awake we will return to his soul to await his call again.” They respond.

“I think we’ll be fine even without your watch since Holter clears out this mountain nearly everyday. Won’t you get bored with nothing to do?” Sam wonders.

“The hunter is thorough however there are stragglers out there that come out of hiding when he no longer patrols.”

Me and Sam share a look. “You talk like you can see them.”

“That is because we can.”

Oh...oh! That makes sense, Sam’s shadow is still made of void so he must retain some of the same powers as Drakaina. Hmm similar...I wonder if she looks just like the void beast. Oh I probably should stop referring to them as an “it.” They seem to have sentience unlike the mindless ones sent after me long before.

“Hey do you mind answering a few more questions for me before we sleep?” Sam asks

The shadowed being flicks their gaze over us for a moment back before returning back to staring out into the night sky out the entrance.

“Any question that you ask I will answer within reason, master.” It answers coolly.

“Aight fair enough but can you stop it with the master stuff? It feels weird being called that.” Sam says.

They tilt their head seeming confused. “How so? You are our summoner and do not exert the arrogance that the skeleton does. You do not look down at us and as such deserve our respect.”

Sam seems a little embarrassed, seeming to not be used to dealing with a subject like this but continues to try and explain.

“I mean you’re basically declaring that I’m superior to you which feels wrong in so many ways. If you’re going to address me call me by name. If you don’t like it then I guess you can pull off the british butler act and call me that when in the presence of the public but not in private.”

The shadow thought on this before nodding its head seeming to accept the terms given. 

“I see... in the eyes of the public we will act as your protector and servant. However when alone you prefer us to treat you as a friend would.”

Leave it to Sam to want to be friends with his own shadow. Out of context that sounds extremely sad but seeing this in person is actually quite heart warming. Our group grows a size more once again thanks to him.

“Ok next question. Why do you refer to yourself as we or our?”

The shadow blinked “Ah it is our force of habit. We were blended amongst our brothers and sisters almost like a hive mind.”

“Brothers and sisters? You void beings have genders?” I ask

“Not necessarily we are neither male or female but we can replicate the genita-”

“OK THANK YOU WE UNDERSTAND!” I say a bit loudly

This was getting out of hand and needed to be halted in its tracks. I look over at Sam to see him grinning in amusement at my flustered state.

“You know if you want I can ask him to change to a female for you and leave.”

“Sam!?” I was utterly appalled at what he was more than likely suggesting.

“Alright fine I’m deciding that he’s a boy so you're not tempted to do things. Unless you're secretly...you know.”

“Can you STOP!?”

My face was burning hot somehow. 

“You know what the only thing I’m tempted to do right now is?” 

“What?”

“Leaving and sleeping at Holter’s place instead!”

Sam let’s out a small wheeze as if I made a funny joke before he opens his big mouth to say something else stupid.

“We’ve only known Holter for a bit and you want to sleep with him? At least take him out first.”

I sit up not feeling tired all of a sudden. “I’m leaving.”

“No wait!” He laughs in between his words. “I’m sorry!” 

“No you're not.”

He reaches over to me but I put my hand out to stop him.

“Nope I’m not in the mood to be touched right now.” I say grumpily

“Well I can’t show how sorry I am if you don’t let me!”

I cross my arms and look away to show him that I’ve made up my mind. This’ll show him to not make such inappropriate implications about me. Come on squirm! This is my revenge!

“Azzy please it was a joke! I didn’t mean it.” He begs

A sudden tremor runs through me and I feel the soft touch of nostalgia caressing my soul. “Azzy”...that’s a nickname that I haven't heard since Chara and I played in the castle together. I always liked it when she called me that. To hear it again from someone else felt strange but I didn’t feel the need to correct it. We shared a space , told stories to one another, trained and fought for each other. I didn’t know what my standing with Sam was. Is he just a friend or a brother in arms? Regardless I think he has the right to call me by that name even if he doesn’t understand the significance to it.

Alright time to drop the false threat, I’ve seen him squirm enough and his distressed aura is actually making me feel bad.

“Ok Sam you’re forgiven your begging was amusing for long enough.”

“...You were pretending!?” He looks mad but I can sense the relief. “You are such an ass for doing that. I thought I was being too insensitive to you so I was legitimately worried!”

I chuckle “I’ve been around for a while. It takes a lot more to offend me than a couple weird innuendos.”

Maybe if you caught me a century ago then that would be a different story. But my mom would have scolded you to death afterwards for such “indecent jokes”. Chara lost chocolate privileges for two weeks after making a joke similar to that. I recollect something about “popping a cherry in a hole” when they said that they wanted to go off somewhere on their own. The expression of horror and embarrassment on my parent’s faces stick with me to this day. 

The slight shift of movement out of my peripherals remind me that a certain shadow was still here.

“Oh right, sorry for that. We got carried away trying to mess with one another.”

The shadow nods but doesn’t make any verbal response keeping his gaze forward.

“This is my last question. Do you have a name?”

“No.” 

His answer was short, simple and uncaring.

“Would you like one?” Sam asks.

…..

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.”

Sam puts his hand under his chin and starts muttering “Ok...the name shadow is a bit boring. It would be like naming a human well... human. Alot of names that mean shadow are very complex to pronounce or remember at all.”

He points his finger up “AHA! I got it! How about Sable?”

The shadow pondered clearly trying to get a feel for his new name before accepting it.

“Sable...we like it.”

With that said and done we wished each other goodnight. To be honest I was very happy to know that Sam actually has an ability that can guard him from danger. It assured me that he can be fine on his own but just in case I’ll be testing Sable’s combat prowess. Sable could likely just rely on brute strength alone which in the long run will not be good. If he’s got the skill to back up his strength then I can rely on him to take care of Sam when I have my attention elsewhere. We’ll have to go somewhere pretty far in order to fight because of the military that just passed through. Also we’ll have to keep it short so maybe the ocean would be a good spot. I’ve never been to an ocean either so this could be a good way to get a look at what I’ve been missing.

…..

………..

……………….

*Ping*

The sound of a soul being drawn out startles me. My eyes shoot open to identify what the cause is but I quickly calm down seeing that it was just Sam. Light shined in to reveal that it was already morning. 

“Ugh already morning I just closed my eyes.” I joke to Sam

“It's noon.” He replies tonelessly

“...Oh.” I didn’t realize that I was that out of it.

“Azzy?”

His tone was laced in worry which in term made me nervous.

“Yes?”

“Remember how Sable said he was going to return to my soul?”

“Yes I do. Is...is something wrong?” Please say no I just woke up.

He shifts around nervously “Well…”

Oh no…

“Yes but no?”

“...Huh?”

He turns around with his soul in hand. I almost look away out of reflex. Sam knows showing a monster your soul without permission is a sign of intimacy and is considered inappropriate with the exceptions of needing healing or it is being targeted in battle. But as soon as I saw it I could see why he didn't care.

The once blue outline of his soul was now gone. In its place was a black outline that seemed to absorb light in a small radius. 

“Both Drakaina and Sable said that it was normal for this to happen when I unlock more of my void powers.” He tries to assure.

“WHAT ABOUT THIS IS NORMAL!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went through a couple names before finally settling on Sable. Originally I was going to call him Shade but I changed it within the last few moments. Next chapter will be our last training montage which means a bunch of time skips are on the horizon. I think this training arc has been going on long enough don't you agree? I hope that you will take a liking to Sable. If you got any critique don't be afraid to point it out. Lord knows that there has been occasions where I've misspelled something or messed up a sentence structure and I don't notice until a few days later.


	22. Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holter takes Sam and Asriel out to see that "surprise" he promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that this would be the last training arc chapter but seeing as this chapter is way longer than I thought. I had to put that idea on hold. It's still almost over though I promise. Anyways this chapter takes place the next night after the last sparring session and Holter had already been informed of Sable's existence by Asriel.

Sam’s POV:

You know when Holter said he was going to show us a “surprise” I was only expecting him to actually try hunting us down with more advanced weapons and traps. Not for us to do the hunting for once and for the “prey” to be a goddamn DEMON!

“What’s the matter little ghost you look nervous.” The hunter asks apathetically 

“Holter I was imagining you just pulling out all the stops on us when we gathered up for tonight's session. This here is something that is actually dangerous! So of course I’m nervous!” I answer

“Yea I’m in agreement with Sam here. While he’s gotten some decent training isn’t it still too soon to be getting in real field experience? None of us know how Sable will react to actual threats yet.” Asriel adds.

Holter shakes his head and sighs in disappointment. “You all are bitches.”

Well screw you to buddy I would like to actually get my body back and not get my soul eaten by demons.

“That’s uncalled for Holter.” Asriel scolds disapprovingly 

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m the one with the experience here. If I didn't know you could handle it then as you said I would have pulled out the traps instead.”

A whimsical look grows on his face “Besides that fight you two had with each other shows that you know what you’re doing. Especially with your brand new helper little ghost.”

“Ah so you did see that.” 

“It’s hard to miss especially when it makes headlines in the news. Also with the military monitoring this area I would recommend actually putting in some of my teachings of being subtle.” 

My body gets colder from the anxiety pooling in my gut “Wait did you say the news!? Did anyone see Sable on public TV!?”

“Luckily for you two dumbasses, no one had a powerful enough phone or video camera to get anything solid.”

“So how did you see him?” I demanded “We were thousands of feet off the ground! Even with no clouds in the air we’re practically dots in the sky!” 

He puts up one finger “The first reason I was able to find you guys is because of some strange orange looking lights flashing out in the sky.”

Asriel gasps in realization before adopting an embarrassed look. From below it must have looked a bit too odd to be the typical shooting star or lightshow so even among the gullible masses they knew something was up. Quite literally I may add.

“Uh sorry?” 

Holter deadpanned clearly not impressed at the clear irresponsibility of the two of us. And now I remember what the shame of being a disappointment to your parents feels like because he pulls off the look quite well. He puts another finger up.

“Reason two is because I had these.” 

He reaches inside his robe and pulls out some very decked out looking binoculars. 

“Combined with my sharp eyesight and a bit of moonlight after you split the clouds I was still able to pick out your helper hanging over your shoulder, little ghost. Even at the altitude you’re at.”

“Where do you even get these things?”

“The grey market.”

“What!?” Asriel and I shout out in unison.

“Can’t order from regular stores because that requires a bank card and I don’t think a bank does well with opening accounts for someone anonymously anyways. Especially for someone of my particular species.” He explains calmly

Just when I was going to interrogate him as to how he even managed to get involved with that sort of bullshit he cuts me off with a shushing motion.

“Quiet! It’s close…”

A familiar soft hand touches my shoulder and I glance back at Asriel. He doesn't say anything but the message was clear on his face. 

“Not now.”

I nod to let him know that I understood but won’t let this be looked over. At least that explains how he can afford all that expensive crap at his bunker or how he managed to get a bunker in the first place. We crouch down and follow quietly behind Holter into the darkness of the woods. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of snow underneath Holter’s hooves and the occasional gust of wind that would sweep across the dark mountain. I couldn’t help but get nervous at the quiet ambience knowing that something malicious was wandering in these dark woods except for us. 

Holter holds out his hand in a gesture to stop and unslings his crossbow.

“It’ll come through here soon and when it does you’re up little ghost.” He whispers

“Uhhhh... so no demonstration first?” I ask with concern

“You’ll manage. However if you can’t even with your new ability then I would say those months of training were wasted.” He says in a near demeaning way.

“Thank you for the words of encouragement.”

Just when the hunter was going to retort the crunching of snow from something close silenced all conversation.

“How you approach this is up to you.” Drakaina sagely advises.

Asriel gives me an encouraging tap on the back as the crunching gets louder. 

“You’ve got this, remember what we taught you and you’ll be fine.”

My hands ball into a fist ready to have my first REAL fight since before I trained.  
Finally the being that we were supposed to fight emerges to reveal...a young woman?  
Me and Azzy look at Holter quizzically but he merely shakes his head. 

“Don’t let its looks fool you. They are not what they appear to be.”

I glance back at the woman and then stand up to cautiously approach. She looks to be in her thirties judging from her facial features. A grey fleece jacket that seemed to be more suited for fall weather covers her torso with a basic set of jeans and winter boots. I know Holter said that these things could shape shift but I wanted to be absolutely sure. This however means throwing away my element of surprise but if there’s even the slightest chance that this was a mistake on Holter’s part then I would say it was worth it. 

…

She looks lost...scared...alone…

“Hey.”

The woman jumps, seeming to be startled and whips her head around towards me. Her look of fear slips away into nothing but relief.

“Oh! Oh thank god there’s a person here! I thought I was gonna die out here!”

A frown drops onto my face. There’s warning flag number one of her not being normal, She can see and hear me.

“Why are you out here alone? Especially on this mountain of legend.” I question.

Her face contorts as if caught off guard at the question but quickly shifts back into the bright smile she had...it didn’t match her eyes.

“I want to find out how true the legends are. Getting a recording of a monster would shake the world for the better or worse.”

“And if you can’t?”

“If I can’t then I guess that I can also clear that rumor that this place became infamous for. I’m sure that’ll get people to come out here more.” 

She seems to ponder for a moment “Wait how come you’re here? I mean you’re also by yourself right?”

“Yea.” I didn’t so much as dare give a moment of hesitation on that lie. “But the difference is that I live around here.”

“By yourself?”

“Yup.”

...

“She’s getting excited.” Drakaina informs

Alright that’s warning flag number two. I don’t know about most of the populace but I would not be excited to see a random dude in the woods asking why I’m here. In the middle of the night...alone. Also her story seemed half assed and lazily thought up of.

“Before I take you back to the city. I have one last question.”

“And what would that be?”

I turn my back towards her. 

“How many innocent souls did you devour using this scenario?”

…………….

All of a sudden I hear the rapid approach of heavy footsteps in the snow along with the feeling of such malice that I almost freeze up.

“Hrgh” Now all that could be heard is the sound of someone getting choked out.

Asriel’s POV:

When I saw Sam approach the woman out in the open I was both worried and proud. Worried because there was this feeling of uneasiness emanating in the air. Proud because he didn’t mindlessly attack and tried to be reasonable first like I taught him. But seeing its eyes white out and its jaw unhinge into a near 180 degree angle. I will not judge him for what he was going to do next.

When it charged at him I nearly ran out myself to put an end to this abomination only for it to be stopped when a dark claw caught it around the neck. Sable grabbed it just short of it reaching Sam with his back turned. Sam turns around slowly and looks the demon in the eye.

“I didn’t want to believe that such an evil ever existed but seeing it with my own eyes it's undeniable as to why Holter would want you all gone.” He says apathetically.

Sable raises his other claw and slowly balls it into a fist while the demon struggles desperately.  
Sam’s eyes darken and an audible growl in Sable’s chest is heard clearly feeling his master’s anger.

“You lured innocent souls in who wanted to help, only for you to repay their kindness by devouring them didn’t you?”

It wasn’t a question we all already knew that she had done those things judging from how ready she seemed when he turned his back. This was not the first time she did this and the thought alone made me angry.

“You deprived others a chance for a good afterlife so I feel no pity for what I’m going to do to you.”

*Boom*

Sable’s arms propelled outwards like a cannon smashing the demon’s face in. The sound it made was that of one of Holter’s more high powered guns when it connected. The resulting hit causes it to sail across the air like a rag doll breaking through several trees before it crashes into a boulder making a crack where it impacted. 

“Wow...that shadow of his actually hits really hard.” Holter compliments.

I couldn’t help but put a hand to my cheek momentarily “That could have been me if those jets hadn’t shown up.” I say weakly.

Holter chuckles “To think that he could make it stronger when he gets his body back. Are you sure that he’s actually human?”

“As human as he can be.” 

Thanks to Sable he’s now a force to be reckoned with. While I don’t like violence I know evil when I see it. In this case if Sam ends up killing it then I won’t blame him. I’m old enough to know that not everything can be settled by sparing or talking. That sort of stuff is reserved for beings who actually have a concept of what mercy is.

*Snap* 

Holter and I swiftly draw our weapons to the sound of something breaking a twig. Four more demons with the same white whited out eyes showed up from the woods behind us.

“Oh great looks like our little ghost’s soul power attracted more.” He says sounding annoyed

“I take the half on the right? And you get the ones on the left?” I offer

“Sure, hopefully our student will be fine for a few moments without our supervision.”

“He will be.”

Although that might just be me trying to reassure myself more than anything. But I still have faith. Keep him safe Sable...

Sam’s POV:

I casually walk past the now destroyed trees where the demon is currently pressed into a boulder unmoving. Blood drips from its face tainting the white snow below. A tell tale sign that she had grown enough to gain a physical body. It made me wonder as to what atrocities she would have done if an actual “live” person encountered her instead of us. Shivers went down my back at the thought of some unsuspecting person getting eaten out here by this thing. This is something that I can’t run from.

“Regardless as to what happens I can’t afford to let you go. You're too dangerous and too far gone for redemption.” 

It looks up before dislodging itself from the boulders and stomps its way to me with animalistic rage clear in its eyes. I stop at a comfortable distance with Sable ready to tear this thing apart on my command. However I want to learn its move set before finishing what would be a completely unfair fight so I drew him back to standby.

She lunges at me intending to pin me but I take a step out of the way. Noticing this she reaches and grabs my foot. To my surprise despite her very small figure she has a strong grip. I bite back a yelp as she whips me towards the boulder I put her on. Fortunately she didn’t seem to remember that us ghosts can phase through shit. So I simply pass through the boulder, stop my momentum and float up to sit down on top of it.

I waggle my finger at her, condescending which serves to piss her off even more judging from the inhuman screech she lets out. Her jaws widen again which I can’t lie freaks me out. I can never understand as to how some people on the internet would think this is hot. Speaking of hot...is it getting warmer?

Just then I notice a small orange glow in her throat. 

“Uhhhh…”

I couldn’t process what she was doing until a wall of hot fire came spewing out of her mouth. In a moment of instinct I sink back down into the rock to avoid being bathed in hellfire. However that didn’t seem to help too much when I could still feel a lot of the heat still inside. Is she melting through the damn boulder!? My soul begins to sting as it feels like I’m getting boiled.

Gah! This actually is so much worse than Asriel’s flames! At the very worst I would get some very minor burns from him, but here? I feel like I’m being cooked in a microwave!

“Focus Sam all you have to do is get out behind the boulder and you’ll be fine!” Drakaina advises.

“Right!”

Seems that I lost some common sense there for a moment from panicking.  
I rush away from where I felt the heat source and find myself outside once more. The heat no longer seemed to be cooking me but I can still see the glow from her flame. She must still think I’m in there.

“Sable!”

He phases back in ready for my command.

“Do you think you can sneak up on her?”

He tilts his head then nods as if saying “Are you serious? Of course I can.”

“Well go and surprise her before she melts through the damn boulder!”

With that said Sable drops onto all fours.

“Oh you’re going to jump behind her?”

“No…”

Huh? Then how is he gonna get past without getting seen?

My questions came to an abrupt halt as I see him start to turn into a black puddle on the ground.

“What the hell!? You’re melting!?” I panic

“Not melting...blending with the shadows.” 

What does that even...oh...OH!

He’s flattened himself to look exactly like a shadow on the ground. The only reason I can see him is because of the glowing eyes. Before he could depart to do his intended purpose though the bright light of the flames seemingly dimmed down.

“Hmm? Is she done?”

*THUMP*

I whip around hearing something land behind me. The only thing that I could process in time was a fist coming at me but I was too slow.

*THACK*

Stars dance in my vision as I topple over from the unexpected blow.  
She...had my idea!? A weight plops itself on my chest and I couldn’t help but look up in terror as I come face to face with what would be a living nightmare. Instinctively I reach my hands out to grab her by the face to push her off as she tries to bite down but even when I start using my RED soul’s power it feels like I’m wresting a fucking gorilla!

“Holy shit woman what is your workout regiment!?” I wheeze out.

Just when I was beginning to wonder as to what the hell Sable is doing his shape reforms behind her and he wraps his tail around her neck yanking the demon back. Then he wraps his arms around her torso in a pseudo bear hug. The cries of inhuman rage and frustration echo into the night but by the looks of it she’s completely immobilized. 

I get up panting from the exertion of having to prevent getting my face eaten.

“God Sable…*huff*...*hah*….can’t you have done that faster?”

Despite the demon trying to wriggle out of his iron grip he manages to look a bit apologetic.  
Seeing such a sight made me sigh out loud. How can I be mad at him when he’s the reason I’m currently able to be a threat on the team.

“Well what matters is that you still got her.” I assure him

“Sam!”

I plop my butt down on the snow knowing that I can take a break now.

“Azzy.”

The feeling of warmth and fluff envelops me as I am picked off the ground into the comfortable embrace of my closest companion.

“You did it...oh stars you won! I’m sorry we couldn’t watch but more of those things got attracted to the fight so we had our hands momentarily full.”

There was more? I didn’t have support from both of them the entire time!? Had I known that I would not have pulled my punches and finished it way faster! It would have been anti climatic and boring but better than what could have happened had Sable not restrained her.

“You did good, kid.” Holter congratulates. “Just don’t fight as if there will always be someone to bail you out.”

“Oh yeah for sure. But on the bright side I did learn that these things can shoot out flames from their mouths. Also they have super strength so I will not be fighting these things directly.”

“...Huh didn’t know that.” Holter mutters

My brow raises “You didn’t know what?”

“That it could shoot fire.”

“But...aren’t you the one with the experience?”

“Oh I do but most times I kill them before they can do much. I only knew of its durability and strength.”

“Uh I don’t mean to be rude and butt in but Sable is still holding your opponent down.”

Everyone turns over to look at the demonic women still trying to break out of Sable’s grip.

“What do I do with it?”

“Kill it.” Holter says casually. “Don’t worry about your LV increasing. It’s technically just a corpse walking. The demon inside will be released and we can send it back to the hell hole it belongs.”

“Corpse walking?” A sudden horrifying thought occurred “This is a person’s body?”

“It’s what happens when a demon is able to get enough power to possess a living person. More than likely the women who this body belonged to had her soul eaten.” The hunter explains 

“I...is there anything we can do?”

“Kill it and the spirits that it devoured will be released.”

I knew that this thing was evil. Being an amnesiac doesn’t mean that you cannot forget what that looks like. But I didn’t think it was so horrible. 

“This was a human once. What could have led them down such an awful path? To forsake everything that they were and turn themselves into these savages?” Asriel asks, sounding just as horrified as I felt.

“Varying things. Regardless of the reason it merely explains them but it doesn’t excuse them.” Holter says.

All is quiet except for the occasional muffled grunting from the demon.

“If you don’t want to-”

I cut him off.

“No...I’ll do it. With what it's done I’m not going to lose sleep over it anyways.”

“Are you sure?” 

I didn’t respond, instead letting my actions speak for themselves.  
I walk over to Sable and the demon looking at it one last time in it’s whited out eyes but I saw no fear in them. Only the desire to kill remained. It was no better than a rabid animal at this point.

“Sable…” 

He looks at me listening intently.

“Kill it...but make it painless.”

In an instant he points the sharp end of his tail towards the demon’s head. There was only enough time for me to turn away as I heard the sound of flesh and bone being pierced. The squirming and grunting of the demon ceased.

I pull up my menu. The moment of truth.

“Samuel”

LV1

30/40 HP

No LV thank god but my HP did increase since the last time I checked. The arms of Asriel wrap around me once more. 

“You ok.”

“Somewhat...I mean this thing deserved it but still…”

“I know.”

A bright light shines from the body. My eyes widen as mist starts pouring out of its maw fogging the area around us. Out of the fog I see the shapes of people emerge. No wait not just people...spirits all ranging from various ages, even children were there. They all stare at me with inpassive looks on their faces before they bow their heads down in a show of thanks before one by one they rise up and disappear to whatever afterlife awaits them.

We could only look up in awe as this event unfolds in front of our very eyes. Soon the crowd of spirits starts to thin out until only one is left. I recognize them nearly instantly.

“It’s you...the lady.”

She bows her head as well to thank me but I couldn’t allow that.

“I don’t deserve your thanks. I didn’t come here with the intentions of freeing you all. I just got lucky.”

She looks up with a small smile and the fog starts to disperse.

“None the less you still freed us regardless of your intentions so whether or not you accept it I thank you.” She says gently

I didn’t get to say another word before she too fades away along with the fog. 

………..

“I hope they're happy wherever they go.” Asriel says quietly.

Me to buddy...me too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew did this just a couple of days before Cyberpunk's release. Hopefully this chapter will make waiting just a little bit more bearable.


End file.
